2021 Craggy Range ‘Le Sol’ Syrah Hawke’s Bay

WA97+ The 2021 Le Sol is spicy and detailed. Where the 2020 is open-weave and attractive, the 2021 is tighter, more focused and less “available” for obsessive unpicking (as I am wont to do for you, here). There’s raw cocoa, blueberry, finely ground black pepper, orange peel, musk stick, layers of blackberry, mulberry, blood, ferrous notes and a hint of pencil shaving. This is a tightly coiled wine, one that has much unfurling to do, both in the cellar over time and in the glass today. Kaleidoscopic, savory and complex, this is another exciting wine from Craggy Range across the superstar 2020 and 2021 vintages. The exciting thing about the Le Sol is that there is SO MUCH flavor, without weight or density. It is pure concentration, but it leaves an impression of levity and litheness. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

VIN96 The 2021 Le Sol is an elegant, fragrant Syrah. It is highly perfumed with exotic notes of sandalwood meeting intense and pure blackberry and raspberry fruit. While medium-bodied, it has a sense of lightness on its feet, and there’s a line and precision through this wine, keeping it in motion, no doubt helped by a decent proportion of whole bunches (23%). The finish is long, scented and shaped by a corridor of fine gravelly tannins that acts along with the fresh acidity as the skeleton for the wine’s body. While a pup, it could be approached now for its flavorsome and fragrant joy, but its quality and structure are decidedly worth the wait.

French for soil, “Le Sol” comes exclusively from heritage Syrah clones in the Gimblett Gravels Vineyard. The stony soils there keep growth and cropping of the old clone Syrah vines in check and provide warmth in the autumn and winter. This heritage clone was brough to New Zealand in the 1840s. Grapes were hand harvested, partially destemmed (80%), and fermented in open-top French oak cuves and stainless steel tanks.