Containing 4% Viognier, the 2009 Woodthorpe Syrah gives a deep garnet-purple color and very spicy / peppery black cherry and warm raspberry notes with a hint of damp earth. Medium bodied and just a little lean on the mid-palate flesh, it has grainy tannins, crisp acid and a medium-long finish. Drink it now through 2014. No known USA importer.

Blended with 4% Viognier and matured in oak for 15 months, the 2008 Woodthorpe Syrah has superb intensity on the nose with ripe redcurrant, raspberry and liquorice all with fine definition, the Viognier lending it extra lift. The palate is medium-bodied with fine supple tannins. There are notes of raspberry and wild strawberry with a pure, feminine, almost ‘light-hearted’ finish. Simply delicious! Drink now-2015. John Buck OBE and his son Nicholas continue their hone their craft at one of New Zealand’s most respected wineries and winemaker Peter Cowley has fashioned a clutch of stunning wines in both 2008 and 2009. Both tank samples of their flagship Coleraine and Awatea 2009 are bona fide classics in the making, whilst their entry Woodthorpe range of wines offer a costcutting introduction to the delights of Hawkes Bay varietals without cutting quality.