Shaped by a challenging vintage, Dreadnought 2023 captures Waiheke Syrah’s wild side.

Savoury, smoky, and saline, with dark fruit, cracked pepper, and a mineral edge, it’s a wine of tension, precision, and quiet confidence — built for the long haul.

Vintage 2023 didn’t roll in like a gentle sea breeze. It arrived more like a tempest: rain, cloud, pressure, nerves. But Dreadnought has always liked a bit of weather; calm seas never made a great captain, and easy vintages rarely make the most interesting wines. This Syrah was forged under tension. On the nose, it’s pure Waiheke: black olive, sea spray, cracked pepper and wild herbs, wrapped around dark
cherry, mulberry and blood plum. There’s a savoury, almost ferrous edge; wet iron, smoked meat and crushed rock, the kind of thing that makes you stop mid-swirl and lean back in. Dark fruits glide across the palate, held in place by fine, graphite-like tannins and a line of bright maritime acidity that keeps everything taut and alive. There’s less gloss than in sunnier years, but far more precision, nerve and detail. Oak plays a quiet but confident supporting role, letting the vineyard and the vintage do the talking.

The finish is long and gently smoky with a saline finish, like the last embers of a beach fire as the tide creeps back in