Gentle Folk Village Syrah 2025

Gentle Folk Village Syrah 2025

Gentle Folk were luckily enough to purchase Syrah from two of the best Hills sites, five clones, heaps of sun plus some thoughtful planting density, fruit thinning and vine age. It's also grown by great friends, the Turnbulls and the Downers, with a passion for their land and the wine it can produce. 2025 has density, spice, tannin and all the things you want from proper Shiraz/Syrah.

25% Whole cluster open top fermentation for three to four weeks. Eight months in French Puncheons, 20% new. 

No doubt we've been banging the drum about Hills Shiraz/Syrah in the shop - it's easily got the opportunity to take on the Northern Rhone and go toe to toe at a global level with its midweight vein, savoury, darker gravelly tones with vibrant acidity and tension. Routinely fruit from the Downers vineyard has this beautiful inflection of tar and dark ferric fruit - this is certainly the case again here - camphor, dutch licorice, cocoa powder with a fluorescent purple edge to this that shows blood plum, violets and rosemary herb. Texturally its slurpy and mouthfilling, without ever moving to that stage of decadence or overt richness - the tannin shape and acidity providing gravitas and a rollicking sense of energy, again the shapes here are excellent and finish with a savoury, mouth coating lick of dark chocolate like tannin that gives a moreish, drinkability. Put this up against some Cornas or Saint Joseph and debate away!