Is Syrah really on the slide?

In one of our earlier posts about Syrah and Shiraz, we talked about how much we like wines made from this grape, but also about how the overproduction in some areas, namely Australia, has been dragging down the quality (Wine Spectre: You say Shiraz, I say Syrah).  Now comes the news that from a marketing perspective, Syrah has "crashed and burned" in the United States.

In Eric Asimov's column in the New York Times, he talks about the slide in the market for Syrah in the United States (NY Times: Is There Still Hope for Syrah).  Part of this slide he says is attributable to a lack of identity to the grape: the popularity and ubiquity of the Australian Shiraz led many American consumers not familiar with the spicy, peppery Northern Rhone style to expect the ripe and jammy flavors that are common in Australian Shiraz.  As a result of this confusion in identity, there is a lot of poor quality California Syrah out there.

However, there are a great many high quality California Syrahs as well.  The Syrah made by Ehren Jordan at Failla, mentioned in Asimov's article, is an amazing wine with herbal pepper flavors that is a perfect food wine.  Qupe, another winery mentioned in the article and also in our original blog, is still a powerhouse when it comes to Syrah.

The key to quality Syrah in California, as Asimov notes in his article, is a cooler climate.  It is only in the cooler climate such as you find in the Rhone Valley of France that the spicy, peppery, herbal flavors come through.  We agree with Bob Lindquist of Qupe, that just because you can get the grape riper doesn't mean you should get it riper.

There are a great number of quality California Syrah available.  We encourage you to look for one from a cooler climate (if you aren't sure of the area, ask your wine store consultant) - one tip is to look for a slightly lower alcohol content, around 13.5%, which indicates a lower degree of ripeness.  We would suggest checking out wines from Cline Cellars, which we've written about in previous blogs and which specializes in Rhone varietals.

Syrah in the true Rhone style is a unique wine that can be enjoyed on it's own in that it does not require food, but can be paired nicely with a wide variety of foods due to it's savory and spicy flavors.  When you are looking for a hearty red wine without all the wood and tannins, look for a nice cooler climate Syrah.