Man O' War Dreadnought Syrah 2020 MAGNUM

Reviews

Bob Campbell, MW (The Real Review): 96/100. Big, ripe and complex red with pleasing purity and impressive power that is clearly the product of a favourable vintage. It has drinkability although it is a wine that will certainly repay keeping. Drink 2024-2033.

James Suckling (JamesSuckling.com): 93/100. Subtle yet perfumed aromas of sweet berries, fresh flowers, mushrooms and bark follow through to a medium to full body with integrated and fine tannins and a fresh and vivid finish. Linear and tight for a hot vintage. Drink or hold.

Cameron Douglas MS: 93/100. Harmonious, almost soft bouquet with round edged aromas of blackberry, black currant and Doris plums. There's a fine leather and dark soil base with toasty vanilla and clove spice oak quality. Fine tannins with a cocoa powder texture, in abundance with plenty of acidity. Well-made and ready to drink from 2023 through 2027.

Tasting note

On the nose smoky peat, earthy crushed rock overlaid with blueberry, dark berry, and dried herbs. The palate is athletic with a ripped middleweight physique, an artful display of power and control. The fruit is ripe, coating the core of tannin and acidity, which is supported by a sinew of stem inclusion further balanced by a high quality framework of oak. 2020 Dreadnought continues its run as a unique and unorthodox Syrah from an excellent vintage.

Aromas and flavours

Additional information

Type: Red wine from New Zealand

Varietal: 100% Syrah

Food match: Match with roasted beef and venison, and slow-cooked lamb dishes or an aged cheddar, beetroot-infused dishes or red deer striploin with coal-baked beetroot and creamed horseradish.

Decanting: Recommended.

Vineyards: 20 Tonner, Mad Mans, North 3, Lunatics, Asylum, Niko Face, Big North on Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

Vintage: 2020 was an excellent year for Syrah, dry during the months of harvest, ripe and low yielding.

Winemaking: The Dreadnought Syrah comes from steep hillside vineyards and is carefully hand-harvested before delivery to the winery. Each vineyard is fermented, pressed, and aged in oak separately and tasted from barrel throughout its life allowing the winemakers every opportunity to understand each site for a particular vintage. All ferments are wild and stay in vat for 30 days prior to pressing with the wines maturing for a minimum of 18 months prior to blending. Barrels: 32% New French oak Puncheons 68% seasoned.

Cellaring potential: until 2029+

Alcohol: 14.5% vol

Residual sugar: <1g/l

Total acidity: <5.6 g/l

Bottle size: 0.75l

Notice: contains sulphites

Closure: Screwcap

Produced and bottled by: Man O' War Vineyards, PO Box 1287, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140, New Zealand

Distributor: vinabonus GmbH, Simmedenweg 40, 34134 Kassel, Germany

You love Syrah? Browse the Syrah assortment here.