Rongo 'Rhea' Syrah 2023

Ray Chen is an accomplished wine expert whose experience includes time as a viticultural researcher at Cornell University and oenologist for Treasury Wine Estates.

In 2021, she founded Rongo Wines in Victoria following her seasoned ventures in the vineyards of New Zealand, France, and the United States. It is a vehicle for her winemaking philosophy, which focuses on a small-batch, low-intervention approach with locally sourced and sustainably farmed fruit. Every wine produced is crafted to complement the intricate flavours of Asian food.

The Rhea Syrah is from a single vineyard in Gruyere, Yarra Valley, hand harvested and fermented wild with 20% whole bunches. Aged in neutral oak for 10 months before bottling, unfined and unfiltered. There’s a twiggy quality to the wine, a big tip of the hat to Northern Rhône. Closes with fine, ripe and succulent tannins, the tiniest lick of tar and pepper on the finish.