Our Favourite Things: The Reinvention of Syrah

What is old is sometimes new. Syrah, also known as shiraz, has gone from fashionable to flop.

And it is back again, currently one of the most exciting grapes in the wine world.

You may be thinking that syrah has run its course of popularity — after all, consumers are tired of over-the-top, jam-pot shiraz styles — but producers around the world are reinventing what we know of syrah and resurrecting this once-great grape to new heights.

How Syrah is Being Reinvented

Syrah’s revitalization centres around two things — cool climates and blending.

Interestingly, syrah has been found to be related to pinot noir. This just may explain the current path that enlightened winemakers around the world are taking with syrah — planting this variety in cooler climates and expressing its subtle side.

The evolution of cool-climate syrah is one of the most exciting developments across the wine world. Wherever one visits, there is a palpable enthusiasm for what is to come from newly planted syrah vineyards in cooler climates. What do the best cool-climate syrah wines have in common? They are still ripe and full-bodied, yet they have an elegance, a prettiness missing in other variations of syrah/shiraz. Flavours are typically blueberry and damson plum, with a floral lift and the hallmark peppery character.

This new syrah style has appeared in many exciting regions. Australia is leading the way, rediscovering many of the centuries-old cool-climate shiraz regions that were forgotten during the world’s love affair for blockbuster shiraz. Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, is producing stunning cool-climate syrah, as are Chile, Washington state, parts of California and British Columbia.

Syrah as a Better Blending Grape

Syrah isn’t just being revitalized as a standalone grape. Increasingly, around the world, the benefits that syrah can bring to a blend are being explored. In many regions, winemakers are finding syrah may be superior to the popular merlot as a choice for blending; it plays the same role in providing texture and body to wines, but does so with more flavour complexity. This trend has been demonstrated in Australia, Chile, Spain, Argentina, southern France and British Columbia.

While there is a time and place for great blockbuster shiraz from places like the Barossa, syrah’s exciting future lies in a new cool-climate style of wine. The world is in for a treat.

Read about more of Our Favourite Things about wine.