Bird on a Wire 2016 Syrah – Yarra Valley
Do you prefer Shiraz or Syrah? Or maybe a bit of both like me 🙂 Shiraz and Syrah are the same grape variety however the different terms are used to help describe the style of the wine.
Typically ‘Shiraz’ is used for those rich, fruit forward wines, while Syrah is leaning more towards a French style which is elegant and refined. It is up to each producer which name they want to use.
Bird on a Wire from the Yarra Valley decided to use the term Syrah for this 2016 vintage. The vines grow on a steep slope and are 19 years of age. The fruit is handpicked come harvest time and the juice is matured in new French oak.
Only 250 dozen were made of this Yarra Valley Syrah and it retails for $40. I do love the sound of the food matches which were on the tasting note for this one:
Roast beef, ratatouille and paris mash or a delicious washed rind cheese.
For the wine geeks out there, you may enjoy a few more tidbits from what happened during the making of this wine:
- 10% whole bunch – inoculated and saturated with CO2. Pressed after 2 weeks.
- 50% whole bunch crush on skins for 17 days
- 20% whole berry – fruit destemmed. Plunged and pumped over for 12 days.
- 20% crushed and destemmed – pump over conducted per day over 12 days.
So enough about the wine, let’s get to sipping it hey? Here are my notes:
In the glass it’s a deep red-purple colour. The nose makes us think of black and red berry fruits with a hint of leather and spice. It smells of elegance. In the mouth it’s super velvety with a lick of anise in amongst dark fruits. Delicate, elegant and smooth. A Syrah for Pinot Noir lovers in my opinion. We matched it with some slow cooked beef chilli con carne, it went down well.
This wine was sent to me direct from the winery as a sample, I was under no obligation to post about it.
All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!
