The Pooley Syrah 2024 is a cool-climate Tasmanian red from the Coal River Valley, built on perfume and pepper rather than sheer power. Deeply coloured and medium to full-bodied, it carries dark fruit and savoury spice on a fine-boned frame.

Violets and white pepper lead the aromatics, followed by black cherry, blackberry and a suggestion of dried orange rind. The palate runs to plum, boysenberry and raspberry, with charcuterie and exotic spice filling in behind the fruit.

Hand-picked fruit from the Cooinda Vale vineyard and nearby Coal River Valley sites was destemmed, given ten days on skins, then matured eight months across French oak puncheons and stainless steel. The result is a wine of velvety texture and grainy, fine-grained tannin, with fresh acidity holding the shape and a graphite grip on the close. At 14% alcohol it stays composed rather than heavy.

Serve this Syrah with slow-roasted lamb shoulder, duck with cherries, mushroom risotto or a board of cured meats and hard cheese. A light chill on a warm evening does the aromatics no harm at all.

Drinking well from release and worth cellaring through to around 2032, with the tannin and acid line to carry it there.