Syrah the Pick of the Bunch Among ‘Other Red’ Entries

When Giesen Director of Winemaking Duncan Shouler and his team bottled their Single Vineyard Clayvin Syrah 2021, they knew it was something special.

The wine was recently crowned Wine Marlborough Champion Other Red Wine at the 2022 Marlborough Wine Show, sponsored by QuayConnect.

“This is an incredibly concentrated wine. It has a wonderful balance of richness, aromatics, complexity and freshness,” Duncan says.

“We don’t make this wine every year, only when the conditions are perfect to allow the Syrah to fully ripen. So when we do bottle a vintage, it has to be something particularly special.”

As is the case with Pinot Noir, cool climate Syrah is at its best when it takes a long time to ripen, only just getting to full ripeness before being harvested, Duncan says.

The long ripening period enables fantastic flavour development, concentration, and ripe but fresh tannins to develop. While not well known for its Syrah, the variety has the potential to thrive in Marlborough, Duncan says.

“I think the variety has huge potential in Marlborough, and it’s certainly one to watch. I don’t see the variety growing particularly fast in volume, but certainly I believe the potential is there for a growing reputation of top Marlborough Syrah as truly world class examples of the variety.”

Recognising ‘other’ varieties of both red and white wines at events like the Marlborough Wine Show is incredibly important in order to help them thrive, Duncan adds.

“It’s a chance to showcase emerging wine varietals and wine styles that ultimately add richness to the Marlborough wine region as a whole.  There are some fantastic examples of alternative wine varietals in Marlborough, that really showcase the best of New Zealand cool climate wine growing,” he says.

“To win this award for our Clayvin Syrah is very special.”

Wine Marlborough General Manager Marcus Pickens agrees, citing the encouragement of experimentation in Marlborough wineries as a key driver for the organisation’s sponsorship of both the Champion Other Red, and Champion Other White trophies at the Show.

“Marlborough is a fantastic cool climate wine growing region, and we are excited by the experimentation we are seeing and tasting from our local producers,” he says.  

“Sponsoring the two ‘Other’ categories at the Marlborough Wine Show is just one of the ways we can show our support for these producers and the work they are doing to diversify our industry.” 

Giesen took home three trophies for Clayvin wines; picking up both the Champion Chardonnay, 2019 and Older, and Best Organic Wine trophies with their Single Vineyard Clayvin Chardonnay 2018.