1999 Dry River Syrah Arapoff

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 93 points

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  1/10/2023 - sjwshiraz wrote:

  From Dry River website:
  The season provided full vineyard canopies from midseason on, and a dryish autumn with a total heat slightly warmer than average - midway between the 97 & 98 vintages. Interestingly, total heats for Martinborough might seem technically a little too cool for making ripe Syrah styles, but low cropping and very careful vineyard management offsets this and seems capable of creating wines with clear varietal characters, strong vibrant colours and good concentration. This wine has a sweet accessible nose smelling of red/ black berries and fruit, flowers and a touch of dried rosemary. The palate is rounded, almost plush with well-integrated oak, a firm underlay of fruit tannins and a spicy finish, all integrated with flavours of raspberry, boysenberry, Black Doris plums and hints of Cassis.

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  11/23/2020 - hsacks Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Deep red color. Fragrant aromas of blackberries, violets and Christmas cake spices. Ripe but beautifully balanced fruit in the mouth with excellent depth and length. Complex and integrated on the palate. This delicious wine was one of the best Syrahs I have enjoyed in recent years and was extremely fresh at 21 years of age.

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  3/16/2018 - HowardNZ Likes this wine:

  Served to me blind. Intense perfumes of blackberries, black cherries, black spices and liquorice with some iron minerality. In the mouth, sleek and satiny. Seamless. Very New World. Rich and ripe black fruit with a mineral blackbone. Quite primary, it was a surprise the wine was 19 years old, until we learned it was a Dry River. It is consistent with my view that the Syrah was typically the top wine for Dr Neil McCallum-era Dry River, most vintages. Drink or hold (this wine was built for the long haul).

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