Te Mata Estate Te Mata Bullnose Syrah 2020 750ml

The 2020 Bullnose Syrah offers deli meat on the nose, exotic spice, graphite, black tea leaves and succulent red fruits. There is warmth (generosity, plushness, etc.) in this wine, but the acidity is cooling and detailed. Slinky, supple and balanced, shaped by ductile, tissue-paper tannins, chalky and shapely, this is lip-smacking. 13.5% and perfectly ripe. So good.

A savory nose of charred rosemary, black pepper, crushed plums and coffee bean. Medium- to full-bodied with velvety tannins. Succulent and deep on the palate with plenty of meaty and grilled herbal complexity. Lovely weight and texture. Mouth-watering now, but can age. Sustainable. Drink or hold.

Simply put, this is a beauty of a Bullnose bottling. The ancient red-iron soils of this long-standing Hawkes Bay estate have turned out an evocative nose of plum and blueberry amid a sappy, early spring forest of fresh flowers, herbs and spice (think sage, bay, peppercorn, anise). There's brightness and freshness to the silky palate despite the chiseled tannins. Captures not only a sense of place but also Syrah's often elusive tightrope walk of power and elegance. Drink now–2030.