Man O' War Dreadnought Syrah 2021

Reviews

Cameron Douglas MS: 95/100. Wood smoke and sweet spices, dark berries and black currant, earthy and new with fresh French oak sweet scents and a positive reductive complexity. Even better on the palate with precise flavours of raspberry and black currant , the tannins and acidity accentuate frame the core fruit with a youthful palate squeeze and unctuous salivating effect. Lengthy, youthful and delicious. Best drinking from day of purchase through 2032.

James Suckling (JamesSuckling.com): 94/100 & Top 100 Wines of New Zealand 2024. Complex aromas of dark berries, dried meat, sandalwood and cloves follow through to a full body with juicy fruit and polished tannins. Long and persistent, with complexity and layers. I like the fine velvet texture. Drink or hold.

Tasting note

Dreadnought 2021 is a stunningly complex wine, loaded with red, black and blue berry fruits, lifted stem complexity, iodine, graphite, spice, with florals unfolding and ever evolving. The palate is focused with an impressive weight, balanced with wonderful length, acidity and tannin all elevated with the vigour of the stem inclusion. Dreadnought 2021 is classically styled in the wines of the Northern Rhone, a beautiful vintage reflected in a magnificent wine.

Aromas and flavours

Additional information

Type: Red wine from New Zealand

Varietal: 100% Syrah

Food match: Match with roasted beef and venison, and slow-cooked lamb dishes or an aged cheddar, beetroot-infused dishes or red deer striploin with coal-baked beetroot and creamed horseradish.

Decanting: Recommended.

Vineyards: Madmans, 20 Tonner, Niko Face, Big North, Asylum, Goats, Garden Cove on Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

Vintage:  Vintage 2021 presented moderate crops with a settled growing season, long periods of dry weather and occasional rainfall, the harvest months were perfect.

Winemaking: Dreadnought is a blend of diverse Syrah vineyards spread across the hilltops and valleys of Eastern Waiheke Island. Estate grown, dry farmed and hand harvested, the Syrah selections were naturally fermented in open top vats with varying amounts of whole clusters, carefully worked every day with at least 30 days on skins before gentle pressing to barrel. Natural malolactic fermentation, delayed sulphur additions and two years in barrel has resulted in a perfectly balanced wine on release with confidence in a lengthy cellaring potential. Barrels: 28% New French oak barriques; 72% seasoned.

Cellaring potential: until 2035+

Alcohol: 14.5% vol

Residual sugar: <1g/l

Total acidity: <5.6 g/l

Bottle size: 0.75l

Notice: contains sulphites

Closure: Screwcap

Produced and bottled by: Man O' War Vineyards, PO Box 1287, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140, New Zealand

Distributor: vinabonus GmbH, Simmedenweg 40, 34134 Kassel, Germany

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