Element Vineyard Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2020

2020 Syarh from Blank Canvas Wines New Zealand

$70.00 NZD

PDF Tasting Sheet

Vineyard: Element Vineyard
Subregion: Gimblett Gravels
Region: Hawke's Bay
Vintage: 2020
Soil Type: Free-draining gravel bed soils which have lenses of sand, silt and clay at various depths.
Clone: Chave, Mass Selection (Stonecroft)
Viticulture: Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand Certified (SWNZ)
Growers: Dominic and Rachelle Smith

Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand Certified (SWNZ)

The 2020 Element Vineyard Syrah is a portrait of fragrance and texture, showing the Gimblett Gravels’ rare combination of density and freshness. A high proportion of whole-bunch and signature co-fermentation with Grüner Veltliner lifts the bouquet into beguiling floral and spice notes - violet, star anise and smoked black pepper - woven with black plum, lifted currant and briny black olive notes.

On the palate it is compact and finely textured with bright acidity and attractive cocoa-powder tannins. Gentle oak and lees ageing adds richness and length without obscuring the site’s clarity. Perfumed with layered complexity now, it also promises rewarding development in bottle where it will reveal Syrah’s evocative tertiary nuances.

Hand‑picked on 2 April 2020, the fruit was carefully transported to the winery with our aim of capturing the perfume, texture and signature ppower of the Gimblett Gravels. Roughly 60% of the fruit was retained as whole bunches and a co‑ferment with a small amount of Grüner Veltliner skins introduced a white pepper thread that complements the black pepper of cool-climate Syrah.

Hand‑plunged once natural fermentation commenced, the wine was drained and pressed to French oak barriques (35% new). It went through natural malolactic conversion and matured on lees for 15 months. After combining the barrels and allowing the wine to gently settle, it was racked and carefully bottled without filtration in August.

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Reviews

96 POINTS

"A powerful bouquet driven by aromas of spices and dark red fleshed fruits, seasoned red meats and there’s layers of barrel and smoke, wood spices and pressed violets. Complex and youthful. Equally powerful on the palate with a firm taut texture from tannins and backbone of acidity; tempering and contrasting core fruit flavours of dark berries and spiced meats layer in complexity and mouthfeel. This wine needs more time, it is delicious already, dry and lengthy. Best drinking from very late 2023 through 2033."

- CAMERON DOUGLAS MS

95 POINTS

"Intense wine with an appealing seamless texture and lifted aromatics. Dark berry, cassis, dark chocolate, vanilla, anise, and black pepper are also evident. Elegant, supple wine—a pleasure to taste."

- BOB CAMPBELL MW

94 Points

"An arresting nose of sandalwood, cedar and patchouli. The palate is sophisticated and refreshing, with cool-climate restraint clearly delineating the crunchy currant and licorice flavours. Lively floral notes sit like perfume above the bony tannins as everything tapers down to the chalky finish. Very nicely balanced, lighter-bodied syrah. Crunchy and fresh despite its age, this will remain elegant throughout its development."

- STEPHEN WONG MW

93 POINTS

"A beautifully aromatic syrah, showing cloves and Hunan spices.Medium-bodied with fine tannins. Subtle and crunchy in the fresh finish.Delicious now. Screw cap."

- JAMES SUCKLING

92 POINTS

"The 2018 Element Vineyard usually contains some Gruner Veltliner skins but this vintage is 100% Syrah due to differences in ripening times between the two varieties. It is wild fermented with a five day cold soak and hand plunged. It’s all that you would want a cool climate Syrah to be: smoky bacon, fragrant pepper, but with a sense of more sweet, lush fruit on the finish. There’s 60% whole bunches, giving a light furriness to the mouth coating tannins."

- REBECCA GIBB MW | VINOUS

4.5 Stars

"The 2020 vintage (****1/2) is asingle-vineyard red, co-fermented with Gruner Veltliner (for its 'peppery,fresh skins'), and matured for 15 months in French oak barriques. Stillvery youthful, it is a dark, powerful, savoury, firmly structured wine, vividlyvarietal, with concentrated blackcurrant and spice flavours, woven with freshacidity, and a more 'cool-climate' feel than most Hawke's Bay syrahs. Adistinctive, energetic wine, likely to be very long-lived, it's well worthcellaring to 2027+."

- MICHAEL COOPER MA ONZM

91 Points

"The 2020 Element Vineyard Syrah has a component of co-fermented Grüner Veltliner skins in the ferment—the timing has to work in order for the wine to come together. The wine is made every year, but the addition/inclusion of Grüner depends on the timing of the vintage. The wine includes 60% whole bunches in the ferment, and the wine spends 18 months with35% new French oak (low toast). This is in possession of the definitive black tannins of the Gravels, which is good because the style of the wine and the Gruner addition/inclusion serves only to add, not disguise. There is black cherry, pomegranate molasses, green peppercorns, bay leaf, fresh grated cinnamon and hung deli meat. It's very smart. The natural acidity through the finish leaves a floral uptick of energy, which I like. It's fresh. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap."