Craggy Range 2016 Le Sol Gimblett Gravels Syrah (Hawke's Bay)

If one can get past the heavy bottle in the age of climate change, this is a stellar vintage of Craggy's Range's premium Hawkes Bay Syrah. It's got a nose you could dive into and swim around in the freshly squeezed blackberry and currant fruit, cracked pepper, cocoa nibs, graphite and warm stone mineral notes. There's plenty of oak here, too, but it should integrate nicely into the wine with time. In the mouth, the fruit continues on a juicy journey, gripped by powerful, fine tannins and interlaced with oodles of dried herbs and spices. This should cellar beautifully. Drink now with decanter and protein at hand until 2040. Christina Pickard