Syrah
is grown throughout the world today, making wines of a great range of
styles. The most elegant of the Syrahs are found in the northern Rhone
Valley in the frequently spectacular reds of Hermitage, Cote Rotie, and
Cornas, where the steep, terraced vineyards produce wines loaded with
white pepper and red fruit. In the southern Rhone, the Syrah tends to be
more opulent, but less structured, and is frequently blended with other
Rhone varieties like Grenache and Mourvedre. In Australia, the variety
is called Shiraz. The greatest examples come from the Barossa Valley,
where vines were first planted in the mid-1800’s. The Barossa Valley
Shiraz tends to be more concentrated than the Rhone wines with more
prune-like flavors and aromas. Syrah tends to reduce during vinification.
New vinification techniques, like micro-oxygenation, are beginning to
replace more expensive wood treatment on price sensitive wines, so as to
prevent rubbery, reductive aromas on release.
Syrah
is grown throughout the world today, making wines of a great range of
styles. The most elegant of the Syrahs are found in the northern Rhone
Valley in the frequently spectacular reds of Hermitage, Cote Rotie, and
Cornas, where the steep, terraced vineyards produce wines loaded with
white pepper and red fruit. In the southern Rhone, the Syrah tends to be
more opulent, but less structured, and is frequently blended with other
Rhone varieties like Grenache and Mourvedre. In Australia, the variety
is called Shiraz. The greatest examples come from the Barossa Valley,
where vines were first planted in the mid-1800’s. The Barossa Valley
Shiraz tends to be more concentrated than the Rhone wines with more
prune-like flavors and aromas. Syrah tends to reduce during vinification.
New vinification techniques, like micro-oxygenation, are beginning to
replace more expensive wood treatment on price sensitive wines, so as to
prevent rubbery, reductive aromas on release.
