Ch10 Syrah & Grenache Flashcards
Syrah General Characteristics
Syrah in France / Shiraz in Australia
Small, thick dark coloured skins
Syrah Flavours and aromas
- Deep colour + Medium or High Tannin + Medium Acidity + Full Body
- Black fruit (blackberry) + Dark Chocolate
Syrah Climate
MODERATE CLIMATE
- Black fruit (blackberry) + Dark Chocolate + Herbaceous + Smoked Meat + Spice (black pepper)
HOT CLIMATE
- More sweet spices (liquorice)
DOES NOT ripen in cool climates
Syrah Ageing
Age = best wines develop animal + vegetal (leather, wet leaves, earth)
Syrah Oaked
Most undergo oak - either barrel or chips or staves = toast + smoke + vanilla + coconut
Grenache General Characteristics
- Garnacha in Spain
- Large, thick skinned, light in colour wines
Grenache Flavour and Aromas
- Very Full Body + High Sugar + Low Acid
- Red fruit (strawberry, raspberry) + Spice (white pepper, liquorice)
- With age = evolves into toffee + leather
Grenache Climate
Needs hot climate
Grenache Ageing
With age = evolves into toffee + leather
Syrah Grenache Blending
Similar to Cabernet Sauvignon + Merlot (but easier to make 100% Syrah than 100% Cabernet Sauvignon)
Southern Rhone adds other wines eg Mourvedre and Cinsault add to character of wine (others just add to higher yields + cheap + easy to grow
Australia = Shiraz + Grenache = full body + fruity red + soft tannins + best served lightly chilled.
More serious wines = Full body + intense + complex
Serious Wines include other varieties eg Mataro = Mourvedre….GSM (Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvedre)
Grenache Adds?
Grenache = more alcohol + lower levels of tannins + acidity + red fruit + spice
Syrah Adds?
Syrah = boosts colour + tannin + acidity + dark fruit
Northern Rhone Regions
Cote Rotie
Hermitage
Crozes-Hermitage
Northern Rhone Characteristics
- Classic region for Syrah
- Finest wines grown on steep terraces above Rhone
so narrow, can only be harvested by hand = expensive - Sunlight + good drainage
- Powerful, complex, age-worthy wines
Crozes-Hermitage
- Large appellation that’s flatter = less expensive - but less intense and less complex
- Black pepper + tannins + acids = like Syrah from moderate climates
Southern Rhone Regions
- Cote du Rhone
- Cote du Rhone Villages
- Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Southern Rhone Landscape
- Flatter, no steep slopes, wide stony plains
- Hotter and drier than northern Rhone ideal for Grenache
Southern Rhone Styles
- Large range of styes and qualities
- Cheap = Medium Body + Light Tannin + Simple Juicy Red Fruit and Pepper
- Best = could pass for Chateauneuf-du-Pape in terms of body + complexity + intensity + length
Most famous Southern Rhone and the only AC in Southern Rhone
- Chateauneuf-du-Pape
- Some are 100% Grenache, but mostly blended with Mourvedre, Syrah and Cinsault
How many grape varieties allowed in Chateauneuf-du-Pape
13 permitted grape varieties - but most use very few
Chateauneuf-du-Pape Characteristics
Full Body + Medium Tannin + Low Acidity + Intense character
Red fruit (strawberry) + Spice (pepper, liquorice) + Animal (leather)
Minervois, South France
Increasing numbers of premium Grenache and Syrah from South France
Minervois
- Main varieties = Grenache + Carignan (carignan gives tough wines with high acid and high tannin)
- Syrah + Mourvedre used to add complexity to the best wines
Spain Garnacha
Garnacha most widely planted variety in Spain
Highest Expression in Spain?
Priorat
- Highest expression, quality, complex premium wines = expensive
- Deep colour + Powerful + Full Body
- Grenache main component of blends
Used alone or main component of Rose = Navarra
Tempranillo
Garnacha can be blended with Tempranillo (Rioja) - but rarely seen in best Rioja
Garnacha Rose
Used alone or main component of Rose in Navarra
Australia Regions
Hunter Valley
McLaren Vale
Barossa Valley
Victoria (moderate climate)
- Grampions
- Heathcoate
South Australia
Victoria (Grampions and Heathcoate) styles
- Different style
- More peppery + less full bodied + intense flavour + complex + similar to Rhone
South Australia Shiraz
- Best shiraz are multi-regional blends
- Blending makes more complex + premium wine with consistent style in larger quantities
- Sometimes mention origin on label - but GI will be South Australia
South Africa Shiraz
- Deep coloured + full body
- Dried fruit (raisins, prune, fruitcake) + Smoked meat + Oak
California and Washington
Full body + dark fruit
New Zealand
Hawke’s Bay
Chile
San Antonio
- More elegant + Fruity + Peppery
Where is Minervois and what is it known for
It is in the South of France and its known for Grenache blended with Carignan.
BULK
Cote du Rhone = large volume at low price South of France Pays d’OC Languedoc AC Spain (Grenache led) Australia Riverland Murray-Darling Riverina Names not on labels - SEA
BLENDS
- Shiraz Viognier
Northern Rhone trend to add some white to fermentation
Adds Smooth texture + Exotic fruit - Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon
- Grenache Syrah Mourvedre Cinsault
- Grenache Tempranillo
