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Syrah New Zealand

NZ Syrah put to the test

Richard Hemming MW headshot
Richard Hemming MW
Thursday 27 February 2020
Glasses of red wine in a tasting room with a view of Hawke's Bay

Is New Zealand the greatest region for Syrah outside France? Richard blind-tastes the evidence for his long-held theory, and enjoys vintages older than 2018 too. See also Syrah – New Zealand's hidden asset.

Other than the northern Rhône, New Zealand is the world's best overall origin for cool-climate Syrah. That is my long-held belief, at least. To test the theory, I visited Aotearoa's North Island in December last year to taste their latest 2018 Syrahs, to create a direct comparison with my recent coverage of the same vintage from the northern Rhône. 

The 2018 vintage

Whereas 2018 in...