Syrah of the World

[Nicklasss]

Last Thursday, our tasting group had the theme: Syrah du Monde. Is Syrah a great grape variety, and makes great wines? For my part, the answer is yes, even if this subject is not unanimous…

I'm skipping the details versus the color because all the wines had a nice dark red color, and wine three was a little hazier (older wine).

Wine number 1: beautiful nose, but remained stable and a little less complex than that of the other wines. Powerful animal side, blackcurrant, purple flowers and pepper on the nose. A little more demonstrative on the palate, ripe black fruits, slight austerity, still the purple flowers, pepper, cumin, nice acidity. Score of 89-90. My No. 6, No. 4 in the group.

Wine number 2: powerful nose, typical Côte Rôtie. Scents of black olives, raspberries, smoked bacon, pepper, rock and a side of root vegetables like radish peel. In the mouth, young, powerful, but very drinkable nonetheless. Rich palate, concentrated red berries, balcony, roasted red pepper, bacon, some smoke, and that super long mineral finish...with tannins and acidity. Long. Rating of 95. My favorite and #1, #1 of the group.

Wine number 3: complex and distinctive nose. Aromas of flowers, powerful blueberries, purple grapes, cinnamon, noble oak, shoe wax and fir. Very rich mouth, dark blue fruit flavors, spicy meat with BBQ sauce, creamy fat, very long, tannins, still powerful and still tannins and low acidity (lacks a little freshness for my taste). Score of 92-93. My No. 3, No. 2 in the group.

Wine number 4: Destabilizing, distinctive, surprising. Complex nose of concentrated blackberries, sweet smoke, tarragon, candied cherries, red cherries and fennel bulb. On the palate, medium body, well balanced, flavors of purple fruits, cherries, peppermint, cinnamon, fennel (or licorice with a vegetal side), pepper, nice length with freshness. After 3 hours, a slightly less pleasant solvent side but the good was done! Score of 92. My no. 4, no. 5 in the group.

Wine number 5: here, I thought “classic Australian register”, but not heavy or woody. Nose of concentrated cherries/cranberries, concentrated red berries, a little something animal, sweet pepper, and light cumin. On the palate, beautiful richness, the wine seems slightly sweeter than the others, but well balanced with dark red fruit/berry flavors, slightly woody vanilla and with an attractive green wood side at the same time. Slightly tannic, shorter finish. It drinks well, slightly woozy. Score of 89-90. My No. 5, No. 6 in the group.

Wine number 6: a wine which, like number 2, has evolved the most over 3.5-4 hours. Initially, a powerful nose of animal fat/musk (like if you've ever smelled a ferret's fur), but opened up well with bacon, cinnamon, fresh cherries and candied cherries, ripe morello cherries, smoke and pepper. On the palate, it is the wine which remains red berries, smoke, concentrated morello cherries, a little green vine wood plants, a little earth. Surprisingly long with astringency, freshness and good concentration of fruit. Retro-olfaction on the toasted peanut shell… Looks a bit like a “boosted” pinotage wine. Score of 92-93. My No. 2, No. 3 in the group.

Very nice tasting which demonstrated that Syrah makes good wines in different parts of the world, but each terroir has its signature.

In conclusion, tasting a few wines over several hours is truly an educational challenge! I don't know if I'm really good at it or not, because in the end it's so personal. When I analyze my relationship with wine, during a long and serious tasting, I still feel useless, in my world of appreciation of this extraordinary beverage.

[Nicklasss]

Real order of the tasting (not the picture):

Wine 1: Saint-Joseph Graillot 2017.
Wine 2: Côte Rôtie Jamet 2018
Wine 3: Anaperenna Ben Glaetzer 2007
Wine 4: Tua Rita Poggioargentiera 2018
Wine 5: Kalleske Moppa 2020
Wine 6: Boekenhoutskloof 2019

[dstgolf]

Nic,

Sounds like a fun night. Wines and grape varietal that I rarely if every drink anymore. I've only had the first two in the distant past. I note a couple of Aussie wines but not sure where the other two are from. Doesn't show on the labels and I've never seen them before. New Zealand?South Africa? Italy are guesses from the names and labels but not sure.