Te Mata Bullnose Syrah 2019

Te Mata Bullnose Syrah 2019

The bull emblem that appears on the label is drawn from the car’s radiator crest. Separate parcels of fully ripened syrah grapes were hand-harvested from Te Mata Estate’s Bullnose, Hotspur and Isosceles Vineyards. The individual lots were each destemmed and given a traditional warm-plunged fermentation. The resulting wines underwent extended maceration on skins before pressing and then a secondary malolactic fermentation. The separate wines were then run to a mixture of new and seasoned French oak barriques for 14 months’ maturation. During this time, they were regularly topped and racked, before blending and then bottling in October 2020.

Brilliant amethyst with a deep black core, Bullnose Syrah ’19 glimmers with raspberry, ripe black cherry, and dried strawberry over lush velvet tannins. There are grace notes of black pepper, chocolate, liquorice, lilac, even char and baking spices, with the structure and elegance contributing to undeniable ageing potential. Ripe-fruited. Taut. Silky. Bullnose Syrah ’19 is utter class. A black velvet beauty. 

Pretty, floral, red and black fruit, a sneaky grid of pepper, dried roses and violet. Medium-bodied, concentrated, a little liquorice and spice, nutty, dense and clenched, very graphite and ‘mineral’ character, beef stock and meaty flavours too, and a long finish packed with silty tannin, coffee bean and violet. Beautiful Syrah here. All just so. - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, 95 Points