2016 | Dry River Wines | Lovat Vineyard Syrah

This is a deep and dark-colored wine. The ripe nature of the vintage comes through on the nose, with blueberries and boysenberries. Fresh wood shavings, olive tapenade, iodine and even a toasty graphite-like characters further bring an enticing and intriguing nose. The palate is still very textural with lively chalky tannins on the mid-palate and lively acidity towards the back. However, the fruit brings richness and roundness with an abundance of flesh and body. A testament to a long, late summer, with little difficulties for Syrah.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Already throwing out considerable sediment, the 2016 Lovat Vineyard Syrah became a vibrant purple hue in the glass. Violets and cracked pepper make for an enticing nose, and that's backed by blueberries and blackberries on the palate. It's medium-bodied but intense, with just-ripe tannins and bright acids that give the wine a precise, elegant feel and lengthy finish. One of two great Syrahs from Martinborough (the other being Kusuda's), it should drink well for a decade or more.

• Decanter: There’s something about Martinborough Syrah... when it’s good it can contend with Hawke’s Bay – and the world. This wine is truly delicious: inky, dark and wonderfully aromatic, with the pepper and herb mix close in style to Hawke’s Bay, along with a plush, juicy, black and blue fruit palate with wonderful freshness and length. This comes from one of Martinborough's most renowned vineyards, over the road from Ata Rangi

Producer Information

Dry River Wines is a wine estate in the Martinborough region in the North Island of New Zealand. The producer has earned a strong reputation for its entire portfolio, though Pinot Noir, Syrah and Chardonnay are perhaps the most sought after. The red wine line-up also includes a Tempranillo and The Twelve Spies blend. The latter was introduced with the 2017 vintage and is a combination of Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, and a component of blended Syrah and Viognier. Other white wines are made from the Alsatian trio Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer as well as a Viognier from two tiny, recently planted blocks at both entrance driveways to the Dry River Estate Vineyard. In addition, late harvest wines are made, when conditions allow, from Riesling and, less frequently, Gewurztraminer. Sauvignon Blanc was renoved from the vineyard after the 2006 vintage. Dry River is regarded as one of the region's (and the country's) top producers. The wines are mostly sold via the winery mailing list, and retail listings are hard to find, earning it something of a cult status in the early 2000s. The old vines are farmed without irrigation at low cropping levels. Careful canopy management is designed to achieve optimum phenolic ripeness with modest alcohol levels. Winemaking in the early years was highly technical, although the estate retains low-volume production, low levels of new oak, and cool cellar maturation. Wines are bottled at an early stage of evolution and intended to evolve in the bottle and be long-lived. Unusually for New Zealand, natural corks are used, not screwcaps. The vineyard was established in 1979 by Dr Neil McCallum and his wife Dawn. It is one of the original group of Martinborough wineries, alongside Ata Rangi, Martinborough Vineyards and Chifney (now Margrain) In 2003 the vineyard and winery were sold to US investors Julian Robertson and Reg Oliver. McCallum stayed on as chief winemaker until retiring in 2011. The name comes from one of the first sheep stations in the South Wairarapa region. The estate is a few miles away, but the name was considered very apt for the very dry, free-draining gravely site. The first wines were bottled in 1984.

DISCLAIMER** This is a single item listing unless otherwise noted in the description. Retailer advises either in stock or in route to their location. Usually ships within one to four business days. Longer processing times may occur especially around holiday(s). Some items may become backordered or delayed without notice due to demand & will ship out upon arrival. Overseas 700ml products typically have longer processing/transit times. You can always verify product availability by calling 1-888-548-0333. Please refer to our cancellations & returns agreement or reach out to our support team at help@caskcartel.com for any additional questions.

Our dedicated team specializes in creating personalized shopping experiences. If you’re looking for a specific item or collection that isn’t appearing on our marketplace, please reach out to us at concierge@caskcartel.com or fill out the product inquiry form and one of our dedicated team members will be in touch.  Whether it’s a product you’ve experienced while traveling or a rare, hard to find item you’ve been searching for, we have an established global network of retailers with the ability to locate and source the rarest and hardest to find products.