Syrah: Everything To Know About This Grape Variety
Syrah and Shiraz are two names for the same variety. It is a thick-skinned black variety with small grapes due to which the ratio of skin to juice is pretty high, thus producing wines that have a full body and fruit-forward flavours. These wines have a deep colour along with very high tannins and acidity.
Characteristics
The wine grape variety requires a moderate to warm climate to ripen. When Syrah comes from a moderate climate, such as the Northern Rhône wine region, it produces wine that is medium in body. It is packed with fresh black fruit flavours, herbal notes and a signature black pepper aroma.
A warm climate Shiraz, like the one coming from the Barossa Valley region of Australia, is typically full-bodied and high in alcohol. Apart from having flavours of black fruits, the wine also has opulent notes of chocolate and liquorice. This richer style from Australia is known as Shiraz.
Shiraz can be used to make single-varietal wines, but it is also blended with other grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, etc., to add colour, body and a rich black fruit flavour. The wine has a great affinity to oak and it gathers complex notes of smoke and spice. Some of the best examples of Shiraz are capable of ageing for a long duration in a bottle due to its high acidity and tannins.
Winemaking
It makes very high-quality single-varietal wines, but is also used to add colour, black fruit flavours and tannins to blends. It is most commonly blended with the grapes that are local to the Southern Rhone in France such as Grenache.
These wines are sometimes referred to as Rhone blends. Oak maturation is common in the production of Shiraz wines and is used both to soften the tannins of the wine and to add flavours of smoke and spice. Premium wines from Syrah/Shiraz are often suitable for bottle ageing due to the intense flavours and tannins. The finest examples of this ageing extend for a decade or more. Over time, the wine gains tertiary flavours of dried fruit, leather, meat and earth.
Characteristics
The wine grape variety requires a moderate to warm climate to ripen. When Syrah comes from a moderate climate, such as the Northern Rhône wine region, it produces wine that is medium in body. It is packed with fresh black fruit flavours, herbal notes and a signature black pepper aroma.
A warm climate Shiraz, like the one coming from the Barossa Valley region of Australia, is typically full-bodied and high in alcohol. Apart from having flavours of black fruits, the wine also has opulent notes of chocolate and liquorice. This richer style from Australia is known as Shiraz.
Shiraz can be used to make single-varietal wines, but it is also blended with other grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, etc., to add colour, body and a rich black fruit flavour. The wine has a great affinity to oak and it gathers complex notes of smoke and spice. Some of the best examples of Shiraz are capable of ageing for a long duration in a bottle due to its high acidity and tannins.
Winemaking
It makes very high-quality single-varietal wines, but is also used to add colour, black fruit flavours and tannins to blends. It is most commonly blended with the grapes that are local to the Southern Rhone in France such as Grenache.
These wines are sometimes referred to as Rhone blends. Oak maturation is common in the production of Shiraz wines and is used both to soften the tannins of the wine and to add flavours of smoke and spice. Premium wines from Syrah/Shiraz are often suitable for bottle ageing due to the intense flavours and tannins. The finest examples of this ageing extend for a decade or more. Over time, the wine gains tertiary flavours of dried fruit, leather, meat and earth.
Northern Rhône, France
Northern Rhône is the classic region for Syrah which is the only black grape variety permitted in the AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée). In this region, the river valley is very narrow and the best vineyards are planted on steep slopes. Two important appellations here are Côtes Rôtie AOC and Hermitage AOC. Côtes Rôtie AOC lies in the far north of the Northern Rhône. The steep and stony south-facing slopes of the vineyards enjoy maximum sun exposure, producing a complex smoky, spicy and peppery Syrah that has the potential to develop for many years in a bottle. The region has a tradition to co-ferment small amounts of Viognier with Syrah which adds a floral lift to the wine.
Slightly south of the Côtes Rôtie appellation lies the Hermitage AOC. Here, just one steep south-facing slope makes up the entire appellation, producing some expensive Syrah wines that are complex, powerful and have the potential to age for a long duration.
South Australia
Shiraz is the most widely planted grape variety in Australia. A large amount of the vineyards are concentrated in Australia’s warm inland regions where grapes are mostly used for inexpensive high-volume brands.
The warm Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale regions in South Australia are home to some of the world’s oldest Shiraz vines. They produce low yields of very concentrated fruit. The resulting wines are nothing short of priceless expressions that are full-bodied with high tannins. They have flavours of cooked black fruits like blackberry, black cherry, along with notes of black pepper, vanilla and coffee.
The Hunter Valley in Australia too produces signature expressions of Shiraz. The region enjoys great cloud cover and moderating breezes from the nearby Tasman Sea. The result is an elegant Shiraz wine with a lot of ageing potential, which develops meaty and earthy characteristics during bottle-ageing.
Chile
Syrah is an important grape in Chile. The wines here are distinctly more elegant in style and consistently offer up meaty and spicy notes, along with red or black plummy fruit flavours. Within the Central Valley, the region of Rapel Valley, which includes both Cachapoal and Colchagua Valleys has consistently shown some of Syrah’s finest examples from Chile. Chilean Syrah is known for its distinctly high levels of tannins, which gives it a great ageing potential. This is one of the reasons why Syrah from this region is so sought after these days.
Argentina
San Juan province is the best region for Syrah in Argentina. It produces wines with fruit-forward flavours of black fruit, sweet tobacco, chocolate and baking spice.
South Africa
Constantia Ward produces phenomenal Syrah wines. Mostly you will find rich, dark scented full-bodied reds that are often very high in alcohol, although some more premium elegant and peppery reds are now also being made.
Service
Serving temperature – 15 to 18 degrees Celsius
Glass type – Typical red wine glass
Decanting – Ideal decanting time for an aged Syrah wine is 60 minutes.
Food Pairing
Different styles of Syrah pair with different types of food. The lighter styles of the wine work well with barbecued meats, roasted lamb, burgers, pulled pork etc. For vegetarians, grilled vegetables like eggplant or grilled Halloumi are worth pairing with Syrah.
The bolder styles of Shiraz call for robust foods like casseroles, beef stew and pecking duck with plum sauce. Any food with black or white pepper, or cumin and other Indian spices will complement the wine really well as Shiraz itself has some peppery and spicy notes..