The Last Shepherd Hawke's Bay Syrah 2022

The Last Shepherd Hawke's Bay Syrah opens with a floral lift - lilac and violet woven through dark berry aromas - before settling into a boysenberry and plum palate backed by well-integrated oak. It carries medium weight rather than heft, with a thread of pepper and warm spice running through to a soft, velvety finish. Hawke's Bay's river-formed terraces show through in the wine's polish: nothing here is rough-edged. Grilled lamb is the obvious match, though it holds its own against roasted eggplant and other char-grilled vegetables too. Drink it now, while the floral and fruit notes are at their brightest.

What the winery says:
Hawke's Bay is New Zealand's oldest wine region, shaped over thousands of years as its rivers carved valleys and terraces from the land. This Syrah is a tribute to that unique terrain - floral and fruit-driven, with boysenberry and plum carried by well-integrated oak and a soft, velvety finish.