Villa Maria Reserve Syrah

No.1 NZ Syrah in Cuisine magazine for 2016 – or as the Cuisine judges put it quite simply “Perfection in Hawke’s Bay Syrah from Villa Maria“.

Their Reserve label range simply doesn’t go a vintage without collecting a Gold or two (or three or four or more) along the way, so it’s basically no surprise to us to see their 2014 release Gimblett Gravels Syrah fly out of the traps taking top spot in the Cuisine tasting.

Mark our words – this wine is nowhere near finished yet! Expect this to haul in the Trophies, Golds and more over the coming months and years.

This is a wine to be enjoyed over the long term (10-15 years from vintage) but its early appeal is obvious with NZ’s most famous Master of Wine Bob Campbell scoring it a huge 96/100 and saying “Dense, elegant and peppery syrah…A long-distance runner that can be enjoyed now (but better later)”

So basically what we’re saying is you’ll need at least a six pack – try one now and open the others every couple of years from now! It’s also the ideal wine to wow the dinner party guests, serving up your best lamb or game meat dishes. Hmm, better make that a dozen!