SERESIN | Syrah | Marlborough | 2016
syrah

We will be evaluating wines in no particular order on no particular schedule. Just stay tuned and you will never miss our reviews. If the wine is tasted more than once, the rating table will be updated so as to reflect all the new impressions and observations.

Today we are going to review a single varietal syrah wine from New Zealand’s famous Marlborough region – Syrah Marlborough 2016 by Seresin Estate. In a world where bigger is better, syrah is the ideal choice, as it is darker, bolder and spicier than cabernet sauvignon and contains a high amounts of health-invigorating antioxidants. Syrah and Shiraz are the two names for the same variety, where Syrah represents the old-world style of vinification, while Shiraz is the name for the new-world style. The wine we are reviewing today is the first release of syrah grape variety on the estate, with the grapes sourced from Raupo Creek vineyard in the Omaka Valley. The wine has been fermented on wild yeast and left on the skins for 5 weeks of post-ferment maceration. Afterwards it has been aged for 18 months in old french oak barriques, where the wine went through the natural malolactic fermentation before it was bottled unfiltered and unfined. But enough with the theory, without further ado let’s move on, straight to the wine tasting!
___________________________________________________________________________
Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

Visual
Deep and noble purple color, with indigo shades towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with ripe red fruit and spicy flavours: sour cherry, redcurrant, cranberry, red plum, red mulberry, blackberry, rose hips and cherry tree wood. An instant later the nose is filled with notes of sweetwood, red pepper, nutmeg, cloves, sweet tobacco and some very elegant hints of leather.

Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and fine tannin. It feels fruity, supple and crisp, with an elegant, lean and round profile. This is a quite smooth, a bit tart and very appealing syrah wine with a fair overall balance, where primary fruit aromas clearly dominating over the oak-infused flavours.

Aftertaste
The wine has a medium-plus finish and a quite pleasing, soft and crisp aftertaste.
___________________________________________________________________________

This is definitely a fine wine of New Zealand and, with a total of 91.1 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Conclusion: overall this is a soft and lean syrah wine that is quite close to its prime form  – a wine that requires 2 or 3 more years of bottle ageing, as in its current state it feels too young amd a bit tart. The wine feels smooth, round and quite appealing, with overwhelming acidity and very nuanced fruitiness. Despite its youthfulness, the wine has a fine-tannic grip on the mouthfeel and, in combination with its mouth-watering acidity, it makes it a wonderful, food-friendly wine. Therefore, for the best wine & food experience, we would strongly recommend to pair this wine with fat-rich meaty dishes with soft textures, like for example a marinated juicy butter basted sirloin steak. Cheers!

WineStatistics tasting results:

SERESIN
Syrah | Marlborough | 2016

grape: | syrah |

region: New Zealand | Marlborough

overall rating: | 91.1 |

maturity: on the rise

conclusion: fine | (highly recommended)

___________________________________________________________________________
© The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.