Syrah, the Workhorse.
Syrah, also known as Shiraz, is an ancient grape variety. One of its greatest qualities is its distinctiveness coupled with its ability to blend, two things that are usually mutually exclusive. Wine Bible author Karen MacNeil says, “Syrah reminds me of the kind of guy who wears cowboy boots with a tuxedo. Rustic, manly, and yet elegant.”
When the Romans invaded southern France over 2,000 years ago, they discovered that the local inhabitants were drinking a red wine that the Roman writer Pliny the Elder described as “excellent”. What the Romans had discovered was undoubtedly a blend of local vinifera led by Syrah, which has been the workhorse varietal of the Northern Rhone Valley’s red wines ever since.
The Rhone Valley is divided roughly into two distinct regions. The northern region (Cote-Rotie, Hermitage, Saint Joseph, Cornas), where Syrah is the star of the show and the only red grape permitted. Then, the south region (Chateauneuf du-Pape, Gigondas), where it’s just a member of the cast and actually plays a supporting role to the leading grape, Grenache. In the north, peppery spice is predominant, with earthy notes of leather, blackberries and forest loam. In the south the flavors and aromas are not tied to one varietal and therefore display a wider variance. However, both regions produce wines that are, amongst all the world’s great wines, the most untamed, with intense, dark spicy flavors that dart about your mouth.
Syrah, being beloved, started to journey around the world. In the 17th century, French Huguenots brought Syrah to South Africa and re-named it Shiraz. There are countless myths and stories attached to this name change, most suggesting a connection to the southern Persian (now Iranian) town by the same name, but the truth is that DNA profiling has shown Syrah to be the offspring of two obscure grape varietals, Dureza and Mondeuse Blanche, and is therefore a grape native to southern France. Since Protestant Huguenots were violently persecuted by Catholic France, it seems logical they would re-name the grape, eschewing anything ‘French’ in their new home country.
Whatever the origin, Syrah has had an up-and-down popularity throughout the ages. Hermitage, as the Syrah-based blends of the Northern Rhone were known, were extremely popular with wine enthusiasts around the globe, including Thomas Jefferson, and Syrah was the varietal of choice to add character and power to weak vintages of Bordeaux. But by the beginning of the 20th century, Syrah and its blends had become purely a regional French wine, with very little, if any, interest globally. By 1968, there were only 6,700 acres of Syrah left in France, and almost none in other countries. Then, in the early 1970’s, wine writers and wine enthusiasts around the world ‘rediscovered’ Syrah; its bold flavors, once considered rustic and overblown, were now in vogue, so that by 1988 French acreage had increased to 67,000 acres and then to 125,000 acres by 2000. Of course, today in Australia, where it was introduced in 1832, it is by far the workhorse grape of the entire country. Here in California, Syrah underwent a renaissance as well, starting in the early 1980’s with a group of forward-thinking winegrowers and winemakers calling themselves “The Rhone Rangers”. At that time, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay dominated both acreage and attitude. But for many, the sameness of these wines was disappointing, and many, recognizing how Mediterranean-like their growing climate was, began to think ‘Rhone’. In addition to Syrah, Californians planted other Rhone varietals, Viognier, Mourvèdre, Grenache and others, and all enjoy a greater following than ever before. Today, there are approximately 16,000 acres of Syrah in California, which doesn’t seem like much when compared to the 95,000 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, but consider – in 1998, there were only 1,983 acres of Syrah, while there were 34,583 of Cab. Syrah grew by a factor of about 9.1, while Cab only grew by a factor of 2.1 - the stable now may have a new workhorse.
Truth be told, I have never been a great lover of many new world Syrahs, which is one of the many reasons we don’t produce a lot on a regular basis. It’s hard to find a really good vineyard planted in the proper soils, which to me need to be somewhat shallow rocky clay in nature. I often find the wines to be too earthy, too alcoholic, too sweet and low in acidity, especially if they were from some new world producer in Australia, Washington state or interior California. That being said I will never turn down a glass or a bottle of Hermitage, Cote-Rotie or Cornas from France’s Northern Rhone Valley especially if the producer is J.L. Chave, Jabolet, Chapoutier or Guigal. They are truly some of the greatest wines to ever to touch a wine drinker’s lips. The problem with these wines today is that few of us can afford them unless you were lucky enough to buy them years ago and age them in your cellar.
After tasting many new Syrah’s from this planet Earth, it seems that the grape is finding many more prime places to grow and the growers and winemakers are getting a better handle on how to bring the best out of this finicky grape. Italy and Spain are producing some very nice Syrah wines. The Syrah wines in California are becoming a little less alcoholic, less sweet and finding a better balanced of pH and acidity; a tricky thing with this grape. I now think there should be more Syrah in California and less Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, especially Merlot. One of the things that Syrah has going for it and why it is the “new workhorse” grape of the world, is because it is a great blending grape, lending color, flavor and tannins to an array of red wines.
Each year we still produce a small amount of Syrah and chose to mainly use it as a blender for things like Petite Sirah (which is a relative), Grenache or Primo Rosso, a task that it gladly accepts. Sadly, every year some good Syrah vineyards get removed because they can’t find a home. So next time you are looking for a hearty red wine to go with your steak, roast, or Spaghetti Bolognese, grab a bottle of our Syrah and you won’t be disappointed.
This story is a rework that the late Bob Meadows and I worked on many years ago. He was a great writer and we miss him very much.
Cheers,
Gregory Graziano