2022 Reserve Syrah
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The Lismore 2022 Greyton Estate Reserve Syrah is very much on the ripe side, too much for my tastes, with jammy aromas, prune and baked plum. It shows a medium-plus texture but feels brittle in terms of the tannins. This is all estate Syrah, fermented with 50% whole-cluster fruit with 28 days of skin contact. The wine ages in 500- and 700-liter barrels for 11 months, with 35% new oak. The vineyards are planted on heavy, decomposed shale soils, and there is no irrigation. Despite the ripeness I get in this vintage, Greyton is a cool climate with steep diurnal shifts between day and nighttime temperatures. This is a 2,430-bottle release.
Critic scores
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Neal Martin
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2022 Syrah Estate Reserve was dry-farmed on steep shale slopes with long hang-time on the vine. This vintage includes 50% whole bunch and aged in 500- and 700-liter barrels. It has an intense nose with black cherry, raspberry, Provençal herbs and wild thyme. The harmonious palate has a slightly powdery texture and wonderful backbone, reminiscent of a Côte-Rôtie, with white pepper and subtle fennel notes toward the finish. It feels quite linear at the moment, perhaps holding something back for later? Fabulous.
Bursting with purple flowers and savory, spicy notes, the 2021 Estate Reserve Syrah was made with 50% whole-cluster fruit, offering a crunchy, red-fruited nose that pops with delightful tertiary expressions of turned earth and pencil lead. Light to medium-bodied and with 12% alcohol, the wine compresses slightly to show an earthy, graphite edge on the palate while slightly stemmy notes sway with fine-grained tannins across the mid-palate. Flavors of potpourri with spiced cherry skin somersault with red and purple flower essences before finishing with hints of pink peppercorn over the elegant and elongated finish. Just under 5,000 bottles were produced after the wine spent 11 months in 25% new oak barrels.