October 18, 2004

Syrah / Shiraz

Pronounced [sih-RAH or shih-RAHZ]

From the International Wine of the Month Club

Hermitage and Cote-Rotie in France, the great old vines renditions of South Australia-the epitome of Syrah is a majestic red that can age for half a century. The grape seems to grow well in a number of areas and is capable of rendering rich, complex, and distinctive wines, with pronounced pepper, spice, black cherry, tar, leather and roasted nut flavors, as well as a smooth, supple texture and ripe tannins. In the south of France, it finds its way into various blends, as in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and the better wines of the Languedoc-Roussillon. Known as Shiraz in Australia, Syrah was long used there for bread-and-butter blends, but an increasing number of high-quality varietal bottlings are now being made, especially from old vines in the Barossa Valley.

From WikiPedia

Shiraz is the name of a grape variety used to make a popular style of red wine, either on its own or blended with others.

It is generally known as Syrah in France, though some argue that Syrah and Shiraz have diverged sufficiently to be considered separate varieties. Though it is usually known as Shiraz in Australia, some winemakers there occasionally sell it as "Syrah." South Africa usually calls it Shiraz. In other countries where it is cultivated, usage differs. In the U.S. this grape is grown primarily in California, where it is most commonly called Syrah. Adding some confusion is the fact that it is not uncommon for Shiraz wines to be labelled as "Syrah" when exported to some parts of the world.

In France Shiraz is the main grape of the Northern Rhône (where it is always called Syrah), associated with classic wines such as Hermitage and Cote-rotie. Although its best incarnations will age for decades, it is usually regarded as an early-drinking wine. For this reason it has been widely used as a basic blending grape in the red wines of many countries.

It is Australia's most popular red grape (also sometimes called Hermitage there), and is grown in many wine producing regions around the world. Shiraz has not always been in favor in Australia; in the 1970s white wine was so popular growers were ripping up unprofitable Shiraz vineyards, even those with very old vines. Many factors, including the French paradox and the affinity of influential wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. for the lush, powerful wines produced from Shiraz caused a turnaround in demand, and plantings expanded dramatically through the 1980s and 1990s.

Wines made from Shiraz are quite powerfully flavoured and full-bodied, reminiscent of blackcurrants, with a distinctive "spicy" finish. With time in the bottle these flavours are moderated, and indeed many premium Shiraz-based wines are at their best after some considerable time aged in a cellar. The large Australian firm of Penfolds says that its flagship Shiraz-based wine, Grange, does not start giving its best until 12-15 years from the vintage.

In Australia, and other New World countries, it is common to blend Shiraz with either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, and such wines are labeled with the grape providing the largest volume listed first. For instance, a blend with a majority of Shiraz and a minority of Merlot would be labeled "Shiraz-Merlot".

Shiraz is also used to make the unique "sparkling Shiraz," an alarmingly blood-red sparkling wine that is not usually exported from Australia.

It has sometimes been thought that the name of the grape Shiraz was taken directly from that of the city of Shiraz, Iran. More likely is that the name of the grape is a modification of "Scyras," one of a number of synonyms for Syrah in the Rhône Valley, where it was already established in Roman times and from where it was taken to Australia by James Busby in 1832.

Posted by Michael at 11:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack