| |  Syrah Wine StylesTo assist you in understanding more about the Syrah grape and the wine styles it produces, we have put together a list of the wine styles and some of the wines from our catalogue that fit into each of the categories. Have a good look around and enjoy tasting your Syrah wines.
If you would like to learn more about Syrah through one of our tasting workshops, please do contact us and we'd be pleased to help.
| French SyrahSyrah's homeland is in the great vineyards of the northern Rhône valley in France. It is here that it produces its most long-lived expressions.
To begin, we have two examples of northern Rhône wines that demonstrate its character beautifully:
Jaboulet Crozes Hermitage Rouge Domaine de Thalabert 2005 is a lighter style, as you would expect from Crozes, but stills shows great fruit concentration and the structure and spiciness that is the hallmark of this style.
The French style is also found elsewhere, especially in South Africa and the Fairview "Beacon" Shiraz 2004 demonstrates just how good this style can be.
And to demonstrate the power and complexity that can be achived by truly great Syrah, try the Tenuta Fontodi Syrah 2003, a world class wine from Italy, that more than holds its own with the great (and usually more expensive) French examples.
| Blended SyrahSyrah is also a significant contributor to many (especially southern) French blends.
Costieres des Nimes is at the southern end of the Rhône valley and the Château Le Tour de Beraud 2006 demonstrates Syrah's ability to match well with its blending partners Grenache and Mourvèdre.
There are also some good examples of Shiraz coming out of South Africa and the Goat Roti 2005 puts an interesting spin on the Côte Rôtie style and it includes 4% Viognier in the blend.
| New World Style ShirazThis is where the block buster wines really cut in. West Mount Wine have numerous examples of great Australian Shiraz and here are a few to whet your palate:
The Glenguin Schoolhouse Block Shiraz 2002 comes from the Hunter Valley in New South Wales and is unusual in that it shows some real character though considerable bottle age.
The hand crafted Glaetzer Bishop Shiraz 2005 is very much in the block buster style, but offers real character.
With more finesse and complexity, you may like to try a wine from the Barossa such as the Charles Melton Barossa Shiraz 2001 , a wine with considerable ageing potential.
And finally, a wine in such demand that it is sold on allocation and has an almost fanatical "cult" following, the d'Arenberg "The Dead Arm" Shiraz 2005. It really sums up what Aussie Shiraz is all about!
| More InformationWe hope you've enjoyed reading a little bit about Syrah and have learned a little something along the way.
And of course, if you would like any further information on any of the information in these articles, please do not hesitate to contact us |
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