Michael Syrah
Waiheke Island
Facts.
First Vintage: 2005
Scale: Around 600 bottles!
Range: Syrah
Cellar Door: Not enough wine for that carry on!
Accommodation: No Accommodation, but they do weddings!
“Our vines are grown with each vine on their own individual stake in the traditional European style.”
About
Michael Syrah is a pure expression of Louise Thomas and Michael Holden’s Waiheke Island vineyard. A truly special boutique vineyard that thrives on their north-facing slope, soaking up the sunlight reflected off the Hauraki Gulf. They only produce up to 600 bottles a year… so every single vintage is extremely precious.
The couple met on a plane as an air hostess and pilot and have since created a beautiful home on Waiheke Island where they’ve raised a family and retired into the world of wine. Pioneered by Michael himself, the vineyard was brought to life with the desire to make a Syrah that was not only lovely to drink, but made using natural processes. Herb Freidli is their winemaker, and with his holistic approach to winemaking, is an ideal fit for Michael Syrah. Minimal sulphites are used to keep their wine pure and nothing is taken away, meaning their wine is unfiltered to keep a true expression of the terroir.
Come harvest, the grapes are hand sorted, hand pressed, then stored in French oak barrels for 20 months as they ferment in natural yeast. Next, the wine is bottled by hand with the utmost care and cellared to further develop the flavour. Finally, the bottles are labelled and sealed with you guessed it… their hands!
Michael Syrah is a boutique vineyard producing excellent, high quality, and rare wine made for lovely drinking, you can’t go wrong!
