Halliday: 2023 Clarendon Syrah, 98 pts

From the Clarendon vineyard that Emmanuelle and Toby Bekkers acquired in '20 after being planted in the '90s. The history runs longer than that though, with the notably steep site first planted between 1842 and ’48. It’s clear this is a special vineyard, one of the coolest in the Vale, contour planted on vertiginous terraces. This is an extraordinary wine. Sweetly spiced, layered with sultry dark florals and blue and red fruits, this has such impeccable harmony on both nose and palate, the suppleness of fruit and perfectly extracted, caressing tannins dreamlike. Intense but weightless. Imbedded is a mineral line, lavender, some pressed violet, olive, nori, all so seamless. It’s startlingly good – a wine of breathtaking class and character.

REVIEWED: May 2025