Grape Variety: Syrah

Colour: Red

Syrah is a dark-skinned grape, grown in many countries and primarily used to produce powerful red wines, which enjoy great popularity, relatively often under the synonym Shiraz. Syrah is used both for varietal wines and in blended wines, where it can be both the major and minor component. It is called Syrah in its country of origin, France, as well as in the rest of Europe, Argentina, Chile, and most of the United States. The name Shiraz became popular for this grape variety in Australia, where it has long been established as the most grown dark-skinned variety. The name Shiraz for this grape variety is also commonly used in South Africa and Canada. DNA profiling in 1999 found Syrah to be the offspring of two obscure grape varieties from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse Blanche.

The wines that originally made Syrah famous were those from Hermitage, the hill above the town Tain-l’Hermitage in northern Rhône where there is an chapel on the top, and where de Stérimberg is supposed to have settled as a hermit after his crusades. Hermitage wines have for centuries had a reputation for being powerful and excellent. While Hermitage was quite famous in the 18th and 19th centuries, and attracted interest from foreign oenophiles such as Bordeaux enthusiast Thomas Jefferson, it lost its prestige in the first half of the 20th century.

In 1831, the Scotsman James Busby, often called “the Father of Australian viticulture”, made a trip back to Europe to collect cuttings from vines (primarily from France and Spain) for introduction to Australia. By the 1860s, Syrah was established as an important variety in Australia.

Syrah continues to be the main grape of the Northern Rhône and is associated with classic wines such as Hermitage, Cornas and Côte-Rôtie. In the Southern Rhône it is used as a blending grape in such wines as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas and Côtes du Rhône, where Grenache usually makes up the bulk of the blend. Although its best incarnations will age for decades, less-extracted styles may be enjoyed young for their lively red and blueberry characters and smooth tannin structure. Syrah has been widely used as a blending grape in the red wines of many countries due to its fleshy fruit mid-palate, balancing the weaknesses of other varieties and resulting in a “complete” wine.´

Wines made from Syrah are often quite powerfully flavoured and full-bodied. The variety produces wines with an array of notes, depending on the climate and soils where it is grown, as well as other viticultural practices chosen. Aromas can range from violets to berries (usually dark as opposed to red), chocolate, espresso and black pepper. No one aroma can be called “typical” though blackberry and pepper are often noticed. With time in the bottle these “primary” notes are moderated and then supplemented with earthy or savoury “tertiary” notes such as leather and truffle. “Secondary” flavour and aroma notes are those associated with several things, including winemakers’ practices (such as oak barrel and yeast regimes), and terroir qualities.

Syrah, as it is known in France, is grown throughout the Rhône valley. The wines that are made from it vary greatly, even over small changes in the vines locations. The differences in the soil quality as well as the changes in the slope of the terrain tend to produce different styles of wine. Ranging from the mineral and tannic nature of Hermitage, to fruity and perfumed in the case of Côte-Rôtie.

Domaine Albert Belle makes consistently fruity Syrah with a herbal edge. Crozes-HermitageFermentation of the Les Pierrelles is in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks and the wine has a twelve-month elevage in old oak barrels. Aromas of warm tar, marmite and wood-smoke greet you, then a palate which is initially dry and herby with a mint edge opens out to reveal layers of blackcurrants, peppered plums and prunes. Cuvée Louis Belle is a selection of 40+ year-old vines with the Syrah partially fermented in oak casks then aged for 12 months in 25-30% new oak barrels. Sumptuous Crozes with copious jammy black cherry and cassis fruit and a silky finish. As the Crozes flies it doesn’t get much better than this.

If you are seeking the stripped down soul and spirit of Syrah Herve Souhaut is your man.The Syrah grapes for his VDP cuvée come from a tiny parcel of land along the slopes of the Doux River and the vines are on average 40 years old. At the end of September, the grapes are harvested and then undergo a very long maceration at a low temperature without desteming. The wine is then matured on the lees in second-hand oak casks for six months and then bottled without being filtered. Delicate and delicious this is a distillation of violets, tearose, blackcurrant and stone. The Saint-Joseph and the single vineyard St-Epine ratchet up the complexity.  Cool climate Syrah tends to have very dynamic aromatics and this gem has one of the most explosive noses I have experienced in quite some time. Violets, bacon fat, freshly roasted coffee beans, black cherry, wet stone and vanilla bean all interplay nicely as they gradually unfurl off the rim of the glass. The palate employs many of the same flavours the wine contains on the nose, however, deep black cherry and juicy plum flavours meshed with candied violets and cool strawberry tones dominate. The tannins that gradually crop up on the finish are in the featherweight division and highlight the readily accessible fruity components this stellar Syrah possesses.

Purity abounds in the wines of Domaine Gramenon from vineyards located Vinsobres. Sierra du Sud, named after the ancient Syrah clone, is indeed 100% pure Syrah. Amidst the power is delightful delicacy: cassis mingled with tapenade, Provençal herbs, minerals and flowers.

Further south Syrah combines with its complementary varietal partner to great effect in Chateauneuf, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Rasteau and Cairanne. Domaine La Barroche’s (ChNeuf) Fiancée was born out of a love for two grapes: 100-year-old Grenache and young Syrah, combined in equal measure.  It is an alliance of opposites, and yet the perfect fusion of masculine and feminine – a silky blend of power and finesse with the aromas of fresh fruits, gingerbread and coconut. This is a more modern style, plush and sweet, opulent and seductive. 

Cotes du Ventoux Cuvée Nadal is a blend of 50% old Grenache (aged in tank) and 50% Syrah (aged in barrel). This fleshy effort reveals pure blackberry fruitiness, well-concealed alcohol (16% for the Grenache and 15% for the Syrah), a luscious, layered texture, and a blockbuster finish with great purity as well as intensity. Cuvée Nadal also exhibits additional notes of smoke, creme de cassis, and liquorice as well as hints of espresso and chocolate. It possesses great fruit, full body, and a tremendously long, concentrated finish.

Cuvée Saint-Philippe from Domaine du Mazel (from the southern part of the Ardeche) is Syrah pure and not so simple. Rich nose of juniper, orange peel and red pepper and then a smooth palate of smoked blackberries and the merest dusting of pepper with discernible balsamic notes of creosote. This lion will lay down with with roast lamb.