Louis Syrah 2007 is the flagship wine of Bridge Pa Vineyard, New Zealand’s only wine producer 100% devoted to Syrah. Named for Louis, the owner’s oldest child, this wine is made from the very best hand harvested fruit from vines grown on Taupo Pumice Sands at the Ngatarawa Road vineyard.

The 2005 season was slightly warmer than average and as a result harvest was slightly earlier. The Syrah fruit was harvested in two phases during early April and on both of these occasions a small percentage of Viognier was harvested in order to include the white fruit in the red ferment. The Viognier free run juice was pressed off separately for the varietal white wine and the remaining skins only were included in the ferment. The Viognier component is approximately 2%.

The 2008 Syrah was in barrel for 22 months; 90% new French Burgundy barrels. The wine was regularly and carefully racked and very gently aerated during aging. The winemaking philosophy is to preserve the very distinct vineyard character and fruit purity along with support from new but low impact French oak.

Harvested in two passes over a ten day period during late March 2002, the fruit was destemmed and crushed to open top fermenters and hand plunged during fermentation. After primary fermentation was completed the wine was pressed to barrel and underwent malolactic fermentation in barrel in new Burgundian style (Sirugue) oak .

The Reserve Syrah 2007 displays the classic Bridge Pa Vineyard aromas of violet and lifted black fruits. The Rhone style palate is supple and intense featuring berries, black cracked pepper, tobacco and an earthy undertone. Barrel aging for 18 months in new and seasoned American oak barriques has contributed to a beautifully balanced and elegantly structured wine that will continue to develop in the bottle long after its release.