One of the other wines we tasted at the Hippopotamus dinner was the 1997 ‘Arapof” Syrah. Arapof was the name of the vineyard which is now called ‘Lovat’. To me, Syrah from Martinborough is like a dark horse. It always overwhelms me how well this variety can perform in what many believe is a marginal area for Syrah. The cellaring potential cannot be under-estimated. The wine had moved along from Ribena and blueberries, and developed beautifully into leather, pine resin and Christmas lilies. Combined with the smooth texture and soft tannins, this was an effortless drinking experience.
