Syrah / Shiraz

Syrah and Shiraz are two names for the same black grape. Syrah is the French name, Shiraz is the name most commonly used in Australia. The name on the label tells you what style to expect: Syrah for the peppery, medium-bodied French version; Shiraz for the rich, full-bodied, cooked-fruit Australian version. One grape, two philosophies.

The grape

Syrah/Shiraz is a thick-skinned black variety with small grapes. It needs a moderate to warm climate to ripen fully. Wines have medium to high tannins and medium to high acidity. The style depends on the climate:

Moderate-climate Syrah (Northern Rhône)

Medium body. Fresh black-fruit (black cherry, blackberry), herbal notes, and the signature black-pepper aroma.

Warm-climate Shiraz (Australia)

Full-bodied, high alcohol. Ripe flavours of cooked black fruit and liquorice.

Outside France and Australia, the name on the label signals the intended style: Syrah suggests the peppery moderate style; Shiraz suggests the rich, cooked-fruit style.

Winemaking and maturation

Syrah/Shiraz makes many very high-quality single-varietal wines but is also used to add colour, black-fruit flavours, and tannins to blends. It's most commonly blended with grapes local to the Southern Rhône like Grenache; these wines are sometimes called Rhône Blends.

Oak maturation is common. It softens the tannins and adds flavours of smoke and spice. Very good or outstanding Syrah/Shiraz is often suitable for bottle ageing - a decade or more for the finest examples - developing dried fruit, leather, meat, and earth.

France: Northern Rhône

The Northern Rhône is the classic region for Syrah. Syrah is the only black grape variety permitted in the AOC wines here. The river valley is narrow and the best vineyards are on steep slopes. The climate is moderate; ripening is aided by aspect and sunlight reflected off the river. Many vineyards are so steep that machinery can't be used, which makes the wines expensive to produce.

Côte Rôtie AOC

In the far north of the Northern Rhône - the northern limit of where Syrah will successfully ripen. Exceptionally steep, stony slopes. Complex, peppery Syrah that can develop for many years in bottle. Tradition allows co-fermenting a small amount of Viognier with the Syrah for added floral aromas, though not all producers do this.

Hermitage AOC

Further south. One steep, south-facing hill makes up the entire appellation. High-quality, structured Syrah.

Crozes-Hermitage AOC

Surrounds the hill of Hermitage - larger, flatter. Generally less intense and complex than Côte Rôtie or Hermitage, but lower priced thanks to higher yields and easier mechanisation.

In the South of France, the warm climate lets Syrah ripen reliably. Sometimes blended into appellation wines like Minervois AOC or found as a single-varietal under Pays d'Oc IGP.

Australia

Australia has by far the largest plantings of Syrah/Shiraz outside France. Shiraz is the most widely planted grape variety in Australia. A large amount is concentrated in warm inland regions, where the grapes go into inexpensive high-volume brands labelled South Eastern Australia.

Barossa Valley (South Australia)

Warm. Home to some of the world's oldest Shiraz vines. Low yields of very concentrated fruit. Full-bodied wines with high, ripe tannins, cooked-black-fruit flavours (blackberry, black cherry), black pepper, and often spicy oak flavours (vanilla, coffee).

Hunter Valley (New South Wales)

Warm, but high cloud cover and sea breezes during summer slow ripening. Typically medium-bodied, medium to high tannins, fresh black-fruit flavours. Develops complex flavours of earth and meat with bottle age.

Chapter 5 done. Chapter 6 covers the other black grapes you need to know: Gamay, Grenache, Tempranillo, and the local specialities Carmenère, Malbec, and Pinotage.