Syrah or Shiraz

Grape Vari­ety: Syrah or Shiraz

Geog­ra­phy: Mostly France and Aus­tralia and increas­ingly in Cal­i­for­nia, Alge­ria and South Africa.

Viti­cul­ture: Grows well in a range of cli­mates and copes well with warmth.

Varietal/Blend: Although used for blend­ing in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, is capa­ble of fine qual­ity wine as a varietal.

Fla­vor & Char­ac­ter: Intense and com­plex sweet fruit fla­vored, par­tic­u­larly black­berry and rasp­berry, with a pep­pery overtone.

Vini­fi­ca­tion: Tra­di­tion­ally, fer­mented at up to 35 ºC. Nowa­days, often fer­mented at cooler tem­per­a­tures in stain­less steel ves­sels. Matured in old or new oak.

Style: Intense, rich and tan­nic with a vel­vety texture.

Body, Dry/Sweet: Capa­ble of pro­duc­ing superb wines across the spec­trum, but is at its best in full-bodied, intense, deep col­ored wines. Pro­duces superb full-bodied examples.

Notes: Known as Syrah in France and Shi­raz in Aus­tralia and elsewhere.