Instant Wine Expert by Infinite Ideas & Giles Kime

Author:Infinite Ideas & Giles Kime [Infinite Ideas & Kime, Giles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Infinite Ideas Ltd
Published: 2011-12-13T00:00:00+00:00

28. Que Syrah, Syrah

Cabernet might be the ubiquitous crowd pleaser but Syrah is the variety that has succeeded in beguiling winemakers all over the world from the Rhône Valley to Australia’s Barossa Valley.

In the Rhône, where Syrah is used to make legendary long-lived red wines such as Hermitage, the grape is known as ‘Syrah’. In Australia and South Africa the grape is known is known as ‘Shiraz’. The difference isn’t just one of name: in different climates, Syrah/Shiraz is used to produce two entirely different styles of wine. In the Rhône, Syrah is either used on its own or blended with a variety of other reds such as Cinsault Carignan and Mourverdre. In the New World, particularly in Australia, the grape is used on its own or sometimes blended with Cabernet.

Of all its different Rhône guises, the most legendary is as the ruinously expensive, long-lived Hermitage. The grape is thought to have been exported to Australia by James Busby, the father of Australian viticulture. A century later it gained a legendary reputation as Grange, a fabulously complex red made in the Barossa by Max Schubert, the chief winemaker at Penfolds. The wine, which doesn’t show its best qualities until after a decade or so, is widely acknowledged as one of Australia’s greatest wines and proved to sniffy Europeans that Australian winemakers could make serious wine.

The difference between Shiraz and Syrah will become clear in the following Taste Test:

Red Hermitage or Crozes Hermitage (entirely Syrah based)

Rhône red made from a blend of grapes including Syrah

Inexpensive Australian Shiraz

Expensive Barossa Shiraz

South African Shiraz

Good-quality Australian Cabernet

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