Payne’s Rise Brody’s Block Syrah/Pinot Noir 2023

55% Syrah, 45% Pinot Noir, both grapes have been co-fermented in 50% new French oak barrique, 2-3 years old and 500 litre old barrels. Six months in total in a barrel. A deep purple colour is followed by a gamut of macerated violet, Morello cherries, mulberries, pomegranates, and blueberries. A little bit of a VA gives that aromatic lift and a blackcurrant juice note, followed by the spice’s conundrum of vanilla, cracked pepper, pink peppercorn, and star anise, helps to complete the picture. On the palate, it is surprisingly light and fresh, with incredibly fine-grained tannins, reserving the back of the palate to the fruit presence, with its noticeable weight, quintessentially Syrah. It’s a wine that shows the true essence of both worlds, with more density of fruit on the nose, while the palate tends to be more pinoesque, with its featheriness, elevated acidity, and the redder, crunchier fruited characters. A tale of two cities that converge into that grand finale.