2021 Bilancia La Collina Syrah

Brand	Bilancia
Region	Hawkes Bay
Varietal	Syrah
Size	750ml
Alcohol %	13.0%
Vintage	2021
Country	New Zealand

Who makes Hawke’s Bay’s finest Syrah, Trinity Hill, or Bilancia? It’s sort of a trick question since the answer should really be “Warren Gibson”, who makes both! Homage is his day job with Trinity Hill and La Collina his own personal project with his wife and fellow winemaker, Lorraine Leheny. Bilancia (bee-larn-cha) has been around for nearly 20 years, the name arising out of Warren and Lorraine’s time working in Italy and its profound influence on their winemaking proclivities. As you’d expect, the name means balance, something that is on full display in this 2020 La Collina Syrah. From a truly great year for Syrah, this 2021 La Collina is a class act... James Suckling's #10 top wines of NZ in 2023.

a quite astonishing nose showing all sorts of warm herb and spice complexity, with pepper, leather, liquorice, anise, and smoke.

the palate is amazingly long and savoury with lots of sweet black fruit, graphite, dark chocolate, and luxurious tannins. One of the greatest Syrah ever made in NZ, if you’re serious about wine, this needs to be in your cellar. No rush to drink but it is surprisingly smooth drinking now, it has the class, concentration, and breeding to age 10 years+. Ideally served with roasted red meats with a medley of vegetables including red and green peppers.