2023 Craggy Range Le Sol Syrah

95 POINTS

Georgina Hindle - Decanter

Smoky strawberries with some charred wood, milk chocolate, violets and dried earth. Gorgeous scents. This is calm and collected, beautifully delineated with such a push from start to finish of ripe red fruits with mouthwatering, almost zesty acidity, that leaves a buzz on the tongue. A long lasting finish dotted with some toasted spice, almost minty, with cinnamon and some vanilla. Pure and refined, really makes you smile. Excellent. 3.71pH. Ageing 14 months, 37% new oak.

90 POINTS

Mike Bennie - The Wine Front

A long line of success with this wine, one of NZ’s most prestigious, one might say. A curious approach. I double checked and replaced my glass as the coffee-mocha character, milky even, was prominent for me to do a double take. Not untoward, just odd, lactic and soft, tannin a silky weave and the finish soft and plump. It’s easy to see fruit sweetness here too, a suppleness but also a little diffuse and watery. More curiosity, this doesn’t feel like the finesse and seriousness of the wine I have known. It ends up soft and fleshy, easy to drink, monotone but in a pleasing, easy drinking, purple and forest berry fruity way with that creamy, coffee-mocha-cream going on, a touch of graphite through the finish. Pleasing, one could say.

90 POINTS

Christina Pickard - Wine Enthusiast

2023 will go down as “the cyclone year” in New Zealand's North Island. This is a cool climate expression, there's no denying it, but it's a solid, harmonious wine nonetheless, delivering aromas of fresh cran-raspberries with bass notes of forrest undergrowth, dried herbs, ground pepper and mint dark chocolate. Mid-weight with a tart finish, crunchy acidity, a graphite core and sappy, somewhat astringent tannins, this should evolve decently well with time in bottle.