It’ my turn to host Wine Babes, our fun and informative group of six women who love tasting, drinking and learning about wine. It’s like book club but instead of talking about books, we talk about wine and drink lots of it!

Tonight I’m hosting a Shiraz/Syrah tasting focusing on three Shiraz wines from Southern Australia, one Syrah from Crozes Hermitage in the Rhône Valley in France and one Syrah from Columbia Valley in Washington State, U.S.

Although Shiraz and Syrah are in fact the same grape with different names (Syrah is the French name for its Australian counterpart, Shiraz), as with all wines the varietal/grape can present quite different tastes depending on the climate in which it’s grown and the way the wine is made. I love the big fruit, peppery and chocolate aromas and flavours in a Shiraz. For tonight I think it will be interesting to taste some big Australian Shiraz wines against the more subtle Syrah wine from the Rhône and Washington State.

Syrah or Shiraz grapes are dark purple, almost black in colour, strong and thick-skinned. The grape can grow well in both hot and cool climates.

Cool Climate Syrah:

A cooler climate allows for a longer growing season with a more subtle ripening process than the hotter climates. The grapes yield deeper, more mature and nuanced flavours of red and dark berries, pepper and spice and can develop the added complexity of meaty, smoke and leathery aromas and flavours. You might think leather, smoke and meaty aromas in wine sounds crazy but trust me – nose or smell a good Syrah from the Northern Rhône and you’ll remember me telling you this.

Cool climate Syrah regions include:

France: The Northern Côte du Rhône including Côte Rôtie, Saint-Joseph and Crozes Hermitage (this is not the same as the smaller region simply called Hermitage which produces some of the most expensive and finest Syrah wines in France).

Washington State, Oregon, the Sonoma Coast in California and Santa Ynez in Chile.

Warm Climate Shiraz:

Shiraz or Syrah grown in hotter climates ripens quickly on the vine. The sun and hot temperatures develop higher sugar levels in the grapes which eventually means higher alcohol content in the wine. These wines tend to be bigger and riper with flavours of dark berry fruits, chocolate, licorice, anise and pepper. You can almost smell the sun on the grapes in a hot-climate Shiraz – the big jammy fruit and pepper aromas jump out when you nose or smell the wine. The taste is big and spicy and the wine goes really well with grilled/bbq steak and burgers and creamy, stinky cheeses – yummy!

Warm climate Shiraz regions include:

Australia: Best regions in South Australia include Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, and McLaren Vale.

Spain, Italy, Portugal, South Africa, and Napa California.

Shiraz and Syrah Wines Tasted (all available for under $35 at Vinatages)

I have to give a shout out to the amazing product consultants in Vintages – each time I prepare a tasting like this I always ask for their guidance and their advice is always excellent. We loved all the wines we tasted so it was tough to rate them.  Here’s what I selected along with the help of the Vintages product consultant:

1)  Laurus Crozes Hermitage, Gabriel Meffre 2014:  $32.95

This was our favourite because of the subtle and smooth flavour and texture. I decanted this wine almost three hours before we tasted it to allow the wine to breathe and relax. We also noted that it’s lighter in dark purple colour than the other Australian Shiraz wines. It’s a fruity wine with aromas of raspberry, blackberry, pepper and spice. It went well with the roast pork with caramelized onions and raisins – the meat softened the tannins in the wine (the tannins are compounds in the wine that create the leathery, tart kind of coating in your mouth when you drink the wine). The Laurus Crozes Hermitage by Gabriel Meffre is a beautiful Côte du Rhône and a great example of Syrah wine from this region.  I would definitely buy it again.

2)  Black Chook Shiraz/Viognier 2016: $18.95

Wow, this was a big change from the Frvench Syrah. This wine comes from the McLaren Vale in South Australia with a Mediterranean-style warm climate. The Black Chook Shiraz/Viognier gives big aromas and tastes of blackberry jam, licorice and pepper.  It would be great with steak. 

3)  Two Hands Fields of Joy Shiraz 2015:  $29.95

I really enjoyed the contrast of this wine to the French Syrah.  This wine from Clare Valley gives off a lot of pepper and spice, chocolate, vanilla, black licorice and dark berry fruits and a big, powerful mouth of wine.  We could tell right away that it’s a hot climate Shiraz by the way the fruit and pepper jump out. The wine also gives off a smoked, oaky aroma and taste. It’s a big wine that would be perfect with a big juicy burger or peppery/spicy steak.

Two Hands produces other great Shiraz wines with fun names like Gnarly Dudes and Angels’ Share.

I love that  Michael Twelftree, founder (one of the Two Hands) and winemaker says this:

“I have walked every vineyard, made every picking decision and tasted every individual barrel of each wine we’ve ever produced. I can’t imagine there are too many winery owners around the world that take the pursuit of quality that personally.”

4) Yalumba Patchwork, Barossa Shiraz:  $21.95

This wine is fantastic and on par with #2 listed above (Black Chook Shiraz). Yalumba is Australia’s oldest family-owned winery. “Patchwork” is made using grapes selected from areas of land in both the very hot and cooler regions of the Barossa Valley. Like the others, this is a full-bodied and chewy big red wine and could be even better if decanted. We got aromas of blueberries, raspberries, cherries, spice, chocolate and pepper. 

5)  The Hogue Genesis Syrah, Columbia Valley Washington:  $18.95

This was another interesting contrast to the Australian wines. It tastes a little smoother and the flavours are more savory and subtle.  It’s more like the Syrah from the Rhône Valley than the Australian wines. We still tasted the typical Syrah fruits – blackberry and cherry with smoked, spicy aromas and a little less pepper than the other wines. We all enjoyed it but preferred the Crozes Hermitage.

Hope this is helpful for the next time you go to select a big fruity Shiraz. As always, I’d love to hear your comments.