Syrah Shiraz

If Sauvignon Blanc's fame can, in more recent years, be attributed to New Zealand then an equivalent accolade must surely go to Australia in its role of putting Shiraz on the consumer map. Syrah has been around as a variety since Phonoecian traders sailed the Meditterranean yet was probably little known as a grape variety to many outside the wine trade until the Australians virtually re-invented it! In France it is the great grape of the northern Rhône and is responsible for the great wines of Hermitage and Côte Rotie. It is also a key element in what is, arguably, Australia's greatest red wine, Penfold's Grange.

Characteristics: Wines produced from this variety exhibit varying levels of tannins which, in the longer-lived examples, can be mouth-puckering when still young and will benefit by as much as decades in bottle. Patience, particularly with the the likes of Hermitage and Cornas, is not only a virtue it is a prerequisite! The style of a good deal of Australia's Shiraz is one of rich, plummy fruit with higher degrees of residual sugar which makes the wines taste dynamically ripe on the palate. Whilst delicious these wines are not intended to be aged and are best consumed within a few years of their vintage. The variety has also been grown successfully in South Africa and more recently South America. In California it has been shown to produce some very fine wines with some cellaring potential. In recent years it has been grown very successfully in the Languédoc where the resultant wines have some of the softer, more approachable style associated with the New World.

Where is it found? Rhône, Australia, particularly Barossa, Hunter Valley and Victoria, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, California.

Wines associated: Rhône, worldwide

Food matches: Game, Beef, Cheeses, Casseroles

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