Our recently released 2024 Syrah from the Gimblett Gravels comes from a wet, testing Hawke's Bay vintage, and carries a Silver medal from the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards. Here is how the year went, how the wine was made, and how it drinks.
The 2024 vintage: a testing year in Hawke's Bay
The 2024 vintage was a wet one across Hawke's Bay, and this wine was made in the vineyard, not the winery. The quality in it was earned on the Gimblett Gravels, with open canopies, late patience, and by leaving behind anything that wasn't clean.
Two moves did the work. We opened the canopy to let the wind move through and dry the fruit, which also reduced disease pressure. Then we hand-manicured the fruit, dropping each vine back to one or two bunches per shoot and clearing any clusters that sat on top of one another, so no damp fruit was left resting on damp fruit. Head Winemaker Matt Patterson-Green says that careful management of the fruit in the vineyard is "one of the things that really stood us in good stead," and it is what let us harvest clean, ripe fruit from a difficult year.
The gravels themselves help in a wet year. Because the stony ground drains so freely, Heath, our Vineyard Manager, and his team can deliberately hold water back from the Syrah blocks, stressing the vines to concentrate the fruit rather than letting the rain dilute it.
Making the wine in the vineyard is a direction we have moved toward for years, and 2024 was the vintage that proved it. We "do as little as possible in the winery with this wine and make the wine in the vineyard," Matt says, and a hard season is the real test of that. It was, in his words, "the first year that really shone for us," precisely because the weather made it difficult. You can read more about our single vineyard on the Gimblett Gravels and why the site ripens Syrah the way it does.
In the winery: wild ferment and French oak
From there, the wine was made simply. After a three-day cold soak, the fruit was wild-fermented in four small parcels and plunged by hand so that each parcel could be worked on its own rather than blended blind into a large tank. It then spent ten months in French oak barriques, a quarter of them new, which frames the fruit with a little spice and structure without covering it. The aim throughout is to leave the wine alone, adjusting neither its acidity nor the natural fruit sweetness that Syrah carries, so what came in from the vineyard is what ends up in the bottle. For the fuller story of how our Syrah gets its character, read inside Pask's Gimblett Gravels Syrah on The Pask Diary.
Tasting the 2024 Syrah, and what to pair it with
Syrah's classic home is France's Northern Rhône, and on the warm stones of the Gimblett Gravels it ripens into a wine of weight and length. The nose leads with dark plum, black cherry and violet, over cracked black pepper and dried herbs. The palate carries blackberry and cassis with a savoury, spicy edge and a touch of smoky oak. There is tension through it, and real grace, with the fruit running from the front of the palate to the back. As Matt puts it, you "are still able to taste the fullness, the fatness and the elegance of that palate for a good two to three minutes after swallowing."
At the table, it pairs with roast pork, roast venison, and game birds. It also carries a lighter plate. A lamb cutlet with a leafy green salad works well because the fruit's density offsets the acidity of something fresh.
Common questions about the 2024 Gimblett Gravels Syrah
Is Syrah the same as Shiraz?
Yes. Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape. The name changes with the style and the tradition a winery works in. At Pask, we call our Hawke's Bay wine Syrah.
Is Syrah a dry or sweet red wine?
Our Syrah is dry. The fruit reads rich and generous on the palate, and the wine still finishes dry, held in balance by natural acidity rather than any residual sugar.
How long will the 2024 Gimblett Gravels Syrah cellar for?
It is drinking well now, but it is a very young wine. With careful cellaring, Matt expects it to reward "at least 20 to 25 years." A stable, cool spot where the temperature does not swing is all it needs.
Where is Pask's Gimblett Gravels Syrah grown?
On our single vineyard on the Gimblett Gravels in Hawke's Bay. The stony ground holds the day's heat and gives back a few hours of reflective warmth in the evening, which ripens Syrah into spice and dark fruit.
This is a young wine. Open one this season, and lay a couple down in your cellar for later.
Browse the 2024 Syrah in our online store.
