Appellation Australia

Fast Facts: Variety: Shiraz Region: Hawkes Bay Country: New Zealand Winemaker: Steve Smith Closure: Cork Cost: $85AUD Source: Friend Winery Website: Craggy Range

I had a chance to take a very quick blind taste of this wine earlier tonight and I’ve been thinking about it in the hours since.

Tasting Note: Deep purple in colour. Nose is vibrant, lots of blueberry, liquorice, spice, blackberry and some chocolate. At first I thought the palate was a bit oak heavy but it is good quality oak and it was less obvious and seemed in balance on the second taste. Fine tannins, excellent structure - it should age beautifully.

When to Drink: I don’t have all that much experience with aged New Zealand Syrah, but I felt this has the structure and fruit depth to drink well now and over the next 6-8 years.

Verdict: It is a really classy wine, but the question was - is it worth the hefty price tag of between $65 to $85 AUD? I wasn’t certain straight away, but the more I thought about it, this is a world class Syrah and is probably worth that level of money. 92 points.

Posted under Wine Reviews , New Zealand

4 Responses to “Craggy Range “Le Sol” Syrah 2004”

1. gw Says:
   June 16th, 2006 at 12:04 pm

   Craggy Range are way way way too heavy with the charry French oak for my tastes. I like the block 14 better than Le Sol quite often too. The 2001 Block 14 was great. I’ll prolly try a 2004 B14 over the weekend.
   GW

2. Cam Wheeler Says:
   June 16th, 2006 at 1:25 pm

   Mr Walsh,

   No doubt this had a pretty hefty touch of oak to it and at first I thought it was too much, but there is great depth of fruit as well. I haven’t tried previous vintages so I can’t comment if the oak treatment is any better or worse than previous efforts.

   I haven’t tried the Block 14 before, but I will have to give it a go sometime.

3. Craig Says:
   July 4th, 2006 at 6:57 pm

   Craggy’s whole line up this year is fantastic. The oak I dont notice except in the chardonnay - which I feel is their only weak suit. 2004 Block 14 is a fantastically refined wine, drinking super even now. 100 points, maybe more

4. Cam Wheeler Says:
   July 4th, 2006 at 7:11 pm

   Hi Craig,

   I did try the wine blind, so I wasn’t seeing it just because CR has a bit of a reputation for oak overuse.

   You and your crazy 109 point system The 109 point system even rated (the briefest possible) mention on my scoring page in the top right hand corner.

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