Jean, Andrew and I took advantage of a long holiday weekend to travel to
Hanmer Hot Springs, a natural hot springs/ water park. We took
ourselves out to dinner at a French-inspired local restaurant where Jean
and I both got venison. With our dinner we got:

2010 Te Mata Estate "Bullnose" Syrah (Hawke's Bay)
nose: initially, lactic with red berry fruit, turning more mineral and
darker, finishing with a hint of spice
palate: medium body, firm acidity, later becoming more structured


This winery was one of the ones visited with St. Helier, Ian and Jacqui
Hoare back in '01. Although the wine was painfully young and probably
would benefit from 5-10 years in the cellar, it shows great promise.
More in the vein of a well-made CA Syrah from a cool climate than
anything French, it showed great class and restraint.

Mark Lipton

Mike Tommasi wrote:

> Are you saying French Syrah is unrestrained? :-) The mass of Syrah from
> France is large enough to cause a gravitational pull (restraint) on the
> less massive NZ Syrah, according to the well known equation
> F = G m1 m2 / d^2
>

Good point, Mike! The only French Syrah that I drink comes from the N
Rhone apart from the small amounts that make it into my S Rhone blends
And does a restrained Syrah obey Hooke's Law? ;-)


> I have found similar restraint in syrah from the Valais in Switzerland,
> though not necessarily class. Time to go look for Te Mata syrah...

I don't know what will be harder: my finding a Swiss Syrah or your
finding Te Mata Estate. My money's on the under/under.

Mark Lipton