A friend of mine has now an Alexa at home. Eager to show me what his new toy can do he bombarded her? Or rather it? With all sorts of questions listening to the answers with an ever growing smile.
“Ask her something” (he really said her) and I do not know why my question was:
“Alexa, tell me about Syrah.”
“Do you mean Syrah or Shiraz?”
“What’s the difference? “
“Sorry I don’t understand the question”
Well, is there a difference or just a difference in writing?
Time to dig deeper.
First of all, there is no difference in the grape, Shiraz and Syrah are genetically the same. Until the 1970’s Syrah was exclusively grown in the northern Rhône Valley and produces elegant wines that are slim and hearty with relatively high acidity and tannins. On the nose you find Plum, sour cherries and pepper notes.
Even though it was a Frenchman that brought Syrah to Australia, very quickly the grape produced a very different wine in Down Under. Grown in a much warmer climate these wines are characterized by a more opulent fruitiness, more powerful with alcohol of 14 to 15% with some residual sugar. The aromas are black currant, raspberries, cherries, plums, chocolate, violet and as its northern equivalent pepper. And they called it Shiraz.
So in France the wine is always labeled Syrah and in Australia Shiraz. That’s all there is.
Now the South Africans entered the Syrah/Shiraz scene years later and you find both spellings some winemakers call it one or the other and give an indication if this particular wine is more leaning to the French style or the Australian.
This is why this grape is one of my favorites, and because there are so many stories where this grape comes from, and I love wine stories.
One says that the French Crusader Gaspard de Stérimberg had stayed some time during the crusade in Persia where he had slaughtered a huge number of pagans. He was characterized as a vile and brutal man who stayed also sometime near the town of Shiraz from where he took some vines on his way back home. In eastern France and planted them on a hill in the Rhône Valley, became a hermit and lived in a cave that still today is known not only by wine aficionados as L`Hermitage.
Nice story but completely fabricated and not true. Shiraz/Syrah, scientists found out, is a natural cross between Dureza and Mondeuse Blanche who were planted in medieval times together. So Syrah is a wild cross of these 2 vines that have no real meaning today.
If you like to experience the difference of Shiraz/Syrah styles here are our suggestions:
The region makes the difference! Get to know Shiraz/Syrah
Immengarten Hof Syrah 2012, Pfalz, Germany
Forest fruit yam, pepper, mint, liquorice, tobacco, leather notes. An absolute old school Winner. Takes you straight to Rhône valley. Kaiser Zweisy Reserva 2019, Burgenland, Austria Ripe red fruit compote, cinnamon, nougat, smoked meat notes. Wild Shiraz mellowed with delicate and fruity Zweigelt. Experience in a bottle. Mooiplaas Bery Red Shiraz Reserve 2019, Stellenbosch, SAJuicy, ripe berries, oak, silky tannins. Dangerous bottle! You might get addicted to it on daily basis.
Saronsberg Provenance Shiraz 2019, Tulbagh, SA Full bodied, floral, fynbos, vanilla. South Africa in a bottle. Wine which creates satisfaction with every sip. Dewaldt Heyns Weathered Hands Shiraz 2017, Swartland, SA Full, rounded, red and dark fruits, spice, chocolate. Dewaldt said he knows different styles of winemaking but not the better one. This is a must try!Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block, 2018, Franschhoek, SA
Intense, ripe plums, black olives, cloves, liquorice. Blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier is a masterpiece in a bottle made by Marc Kent. An Icon! Usual price of the box € 111.45, special price € 99.00 including delivery.