Seek out syrah from the 2020 vintage without delay, says MARY- THERESE BLAIR.

If the Bordeaux-style tasting results showed the dominance of Hawke’s Bay wine, then the syrah tasting is here to show the mastery of wines from the 2020 vintage and, by extension, the Hawke’s Bay 2020 vintage. Incredibly, all but one wine in this impressive top ten originates in the Bay. Head judge Simon Nunns commented that it was the best array of wines from a single vintage he has ever witnessed, and he’s seen, tasted, drunk and judged quite a lot of wine in his time.

A vintage so remarkable really isn’t something that you see all the time, and because mother nature is a fickle (and sometimes cruel) mistress you may not see another any time soon. So our advice is to run, not walk, to your local wine retailer or go online directly to the wineries below to stock up on these incredible wines.