TN: 2008 Man O'War Syrah Dreadnought (New Zealand, North Island, Auckland, Waiheke Island)

WINE TALK
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  • 2008 Man O’War Syrah Dreadnought - New Zealand, North Island, Auckland, Waiheke Island (4/13/2011)
    Unscrewed, sniffed found tons of reductive qualities on the nose, so poured this into a decanter. Served two hours later. Reduction blew off, leading to peppercorns, black and purple fruit, some meaty notes. Full bodied and quite tannic. This shows off medium acidity and has some refeshing elements, but this is all about the fruit. More red fruit on the palate than darker ones, but certainly plenty of blackberry and plums. Great length on the finish.

I got a high recommendation on this from a good shop in Seattle. They really talked it up as a Northern Rhone style wine. While this is very good and the purity of the fruit would certainly be beyond dispute, this reminds me more of a cool climate California Syrah than anything else. It is only the second NZ Syrah I’ve ever tasted, and I would recommend it.

Posted from CellarTracker

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I had this wine a few months ago and loved it. But I found it more old world then new, with a savory nose and green olive and sage notes on the palate. I enjoyed the pure, juicy, red and blue fruit too though. In any case, delicious wine.