Name and Synopsis – Syrah, as used in French-speaking countries, and Shiraz, in English-speaking ones are both exactly the same grape variety which produces some of the greatest red wines in the world.

The best quality is found in the Northern Rhône Valley (France) especially on the rocky soils (granite, schist) of the Côte-Rôtie or Hermitage “appellations”, but also in riper formats in the Barossa valley in Australia. It has also been successfully blended with other grapes varieties in the Southern Rhone (Grenache and Mourvèdre) since the first half of the 20th Century, and has been planted more aggressively in the South of France (Languedoc) with great results too in the last 40 years.

Origin – The origin of the varietal is not confirmed with different hypothesis considered: the varietal could have been brought back to France from the City of Shiraz in Iran during the 13th Century, or it could have been introduced by the roman Emperor Probus back in the 3rd Century… Recent DNA work has also concluded that Syrah could be the offspring of 2 French grape varieties, Dureza (from Ardèche) and Mondeuse Blanche (From Haute-Savoie).

Best Climate – Even though Syrah has got a thin skin, it needs some warmth to get to optimum ripeness and it has shown the best results in Continental (Rhone) and Mediterranean climates (Languedoc, Barossa).

Flavours and Tastes – Fine Syrah wines exhibit spicy characters with black pepper, but also red and dark fruit flavours, blood orange, some flowers too with violet, and in the most concentrated examples liquorice too. With age, the following tertiary aromas can appear: leather, truffle, Musk… On the palate the wines are structured with good tannins, and depending on the climate, good acidities and medium to full-bodies. In the best examples, they are some of the longest aging red wines.

Best regions in the World – Northern Rhône; Languedoc (France) / Barossa Valley (Australia)

Next month - Riesling!