Le Sol is Craggy Range's flagship Syrah, from the stoniest ground on their Gimblett Gravels estate in Hawke's Bay. The 2024 is dark, perfumed and tightly wound: plum, blackberry and violet threaded with anise, cracked pepper and smoked meat, finishing long and mineral. Cameron Douglas MS gave it 96 POINTS. Drink from 2029.
The fruit came in on 4 and 8 April, which is late even for the Gravels, and the wine then sat in barrel for eighteen months. Some of those barrels were Austrian rather than French, which is unusual in New Zealand and gives a drier, more savoury spice than French oak does.
We stock Le Sol because it is one of the two or three New Zealand Syrahs that stands comparison with the northern Rhone, and 2024 gave Hawke's Bay the season to make it properly. This is a wine for a milestone dinner or for the cellar, and it rewards being opened in front of people who will pay attention to it. Craggy Range released the 2024 to its Prestige Wine Club members rather than to the trade, so what we hold is what there is. If you want a Gimblett Gravels Syrah to drink this month, ask us about the Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Syrah, which is made to be enjoyed young and does it very well.
What makes Le Sol different from the other serious Syrah in the district starts in the vineyard. It comes off the stoniest sections of the estate, planted to a heritage MS clone brought to New Zealand in the 1840s, and Craggy Range go through those rows by hand 13 or 14 times across a season. In the winery each parcel was fermented separately, one block with 25% whole bunch, spending an average of 22 days on skins. Whole bunch means the stems go in with the berries, which is where the pepper and the floral lift come from. It then spent 18 months in French and Austrian oak, 29% of it new, and was bottled unfined and unfiltered, so nothing was stripped out on the way to the bottle.
What it tastes like
Deep purple with a garnet edge. The nose is intensely perfumed but savoury with it: dark plum, blackberry and violet, threaded through with anise and a subtle smoked-meat note. The palate is dense and tightly coiled, with a concentrated core that stays controlled rather than heavy. Layers of black fruit, cracked pepper and violet open into a long finish laced with graphite and iron, with black olive and savoury spice behind. Cameron Douglas MS describes a silk texture over firm tannins, with boysenberry, blackcurrant, smoky wood and baking spice.
It is young and holding itself back. Everything that will make this a great bottle in ten years is already in the glass, just tightly packed.
Style at a glance
- Body: full
- Sweetness: dry
- Acidity: firm, and it keeps the wine lifted
- Tannin: fine and silky in texture but firm in grip, needs years
- Oak: 18 months in French and Austrian oak, 29% new. Smoky spice and clove rather than vanilla
- Style: perfumed, peppery, concentrated, mineral, age-worthy
Food
Syrah with this much pepper and savoury spice wants meat cooked over fire. A butterflied leg of lamb off the barbecue is the first thing we would reach for, or a rib-eye with a crust on it. Beyond that: slow-braised beef short rib, venison with juniper, duck with olives, or merguez sausages if you want something simpler. A dish of roast eggplant with tahini works if you are not eating meat, because the smokiness meets the wine halfway. The one worth trying is anything with black olive in it, which picks up the olive note already sitting in the finish.
Who makes it
Craggy Range was established in 1998 by Terry and Mary Peabody and is still run by the family across three generations, with the estate held in a thousand-year family trust. Their Gimblett Gravels vineyard sits on ground laid down by the shifting course of the Ngaruroro River more than 150 years ago, and they were among the district's earliest champions. Le Sol means "the soil".
About the vintage
2024 was a very good year for New Zealand. James Suckling went as far as asking whether it was the country's greatest vintage, describing a dry but fresh season that produced wines of striking intensity and precision, whites and reds alike. In Hawke's Bay it was also a small year: The Real Review reported the regional crop down 20 to 30% on recent years and called the harvest small but beautiful, with the reduced crop feeding straight into quality.
A dry autumn is what Syrah on the Gravels needs, because it is a late-ripening grape on free-draining stones and it wants to hang. Craggy Range picked the Le Sol blocks on 4 and 8 April, well after most of the district's reds were in, and the numbers show a wine that held its balance while it waited: 14% alcohol with 6.1 grams per litre of acidity. The Gimblett Gravels soils are built for this, storing the day's heat in the stones and releasing it overnight, which is why the district became known for Syrah in the first place.
For Hawke's Bay more widely, 2024 is a year to buy across the board rather than from one producer. New Zealand Winegrowers describe the region's Syrah as perfumed and elegant, with ripe fruit, supple tannins and lingering spice, and 2024 delivered that in quantity even if it did not deliver it in volume. Suckling's report on the vintage named Bilancia among the standout producers he tasted, and the Gravels as a whole had a strong year. If you are building a case of New Zealand Syrah to cellar, this is the vintage to build it from.
Critic scores and ratings
- 99 POINTS – Ken Gargett – as listed by Craggy Range
- 98 POINTS – Tom Kline – as listed by Craggy Range
- 98 POINTS – Stephen Wong MW – The Real Review – ranked second of eighteen 2024 Hawke's Bay Syrah
- 96 POINTS – Cameron Douglas MS – camdouglasms.com, July 2026 – “Fabulous colour and concentration... a silk texture with firm tannins and an acid backbone, violets, plums, boysenberry, blackcurrant, smoky wood and baking spices.”
When to drink it
Craggy Range says drink now or cellar 15 or more years from vintage. Cameron Douglas MS is narrower, putting the best drinking at 2029 through 2039. Both point the same way: it is approachable earlier than Le Sol used to be, but the wine you are paying for arrives from about 2029. Open one before then and decant it for a couple of hours.
Technical details
| Winery |
Craggy Range |
| Wine |
Le Sol |
| Vintage |
2024 |
| Variety |
Syrah, heritage MS clone |
| Region |
Gimblett Gravels, Hawke's Bay |
| Country |
New Zealand |
| Alcohol |
14% |
| pH / acidity |
3.65 / 6.1 g/L |
| Harvest |
Blocks 10 and 11 on 4 April, Block 14 on 8 April 2024 |
| Fermentation |
Each parcel fermented separately, 25% whole bunch on Block 10, average 22 days on skins |
| Oak |
18 months in French and Austrian oak, 29% new |
| Fining and filtration |
Bottled unfined and unfiltered |
| Cellaring |
15+ years from vintage (Craggy Range); 2029–2039 (Cameron Douglas MS) |
| Serving temperature |
16–18°C |
Where to buy
For international delivery to the USA, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China and South Korea, the Craggy Range Le Sol Syrah 2024 is available via our winenz.com website. For delivery in New Zealand you can purchase from thewineryonline.co.nz. If you are visiting New Zealand, you can also buy it, and taste a large range of New Zealand fine wines at our Queenstown and Arrowtown stores. This was a club release rather than a trade release, so it is not widely stocked and we do not expect to be able to replace it.
Questions we are often asked
What does Craggy Range Le Sol 2024 taste like?
Dark plum, blackberry and violet with anise, cracked pepper and a smoked-meat note, finishing long with graphite and black olive. Craggy Range Le Sol 2024 is a full-bodied, dry Gimblett Gravels Syrah with silky but firm tannin.
How is Craggy Range Le Sol made?
Block by block, with 25% whole bunch on Block 10 and around three weeks on skins. Ageing is 18 months in a mix of French and Austrian oak, just under a third of it new. Craggy Range bottle Le Sol without fining or filtering.
What food goes with Craggy Range Le Sol?
Barbecued leg of lamb, rib-eye, braised beef short rib, venison, duck with olives or merguez sausages. The pepper and savoury spice in this Hawke's Bay Syrah suit meat cooked over fire.
How long will Craggy Range Le Sol 2024 keep?
Craggy Range puts it at 15 or more years from vintage, and Cameron Douglas MS at 2029 to 2039. Recent releases have been more approachable young than Le Sol once was, so a bottle opened before 2029 is no waste if it is decanted.
What is the heritage MS clone in Le Sol?
Le Sol is planted to a Syrah clone brought to New Zealand in the 1840s, one of the oldest Syrah lineages in the country. Craggy Range grow it on the stoniest sections of their Gimblett Gravels estate and hand-manage the rows 13 to 14 times a season.
Was 2024 a good vintage in Hawke's Bay?
Yes, and a small one. The regional crop was down 20 to 30% on recent years, which concentrated the fruit, and the dry autumn let late-ripening Syrah hang into April. James Suckling asked whether 2024 was New Zealand's greatest vintage.
Where can I buy Craggy Range Le Sol 2024?
The Winery ships Craggy Range Le Sol Syrah 2024 internationally from winenz.com to the USA, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China and South Korea, and delivers within New Zealand from thewineryonline.co.nz. It is also available in our Queenstown and Arrowtown stores.
