"The peoples of the Mediterranean began to emerge from barbarism when they learnt to cultivate the olive and the vine," wrote the Greek historian Thucydides at the end of the fifth century BC.
Homer describes how Odysseus used wine as a secret weapon after he and his men were captured by the one-eyed monster Polyphemus, who devoured his companions one by one.
Our hero offered Polyphemus strong wine as a digestif. The beverage put the monster into a deep sleep. Odysseus then grabbed a burning log, gouged out the eye of the monster, and escaped with his surviving comrades.
When Greece emerged from the shadows of her heroic age, Greek city states began to colonize the islands of the Aegean Sea and the coast of Asia Minor. Soon, Greek colonies were also founded in Sicily, on the Italian coast, and further west, all the way to Spain.
The first Greek colony in Southern France was established by the Phocaeans, Greeks from Lydia in Asia Minor. They founded Massalia, today's Marseilles at the mouth of the Rhone River. This was a stroke of genius. It gave Massalia control of the route up the Rhone and across France to the tin mines of southern England.
It's easy to imagine that Greek traders from Massalia carried with them wine in amphorae or wine skins to buy the good will of the Gallic tribes through whose territories they needed to travel. If the Great Vase of Vix, found in the grave of a Burgundian princess, and standing seven feet high, with a capacity of 1,200 liters, is any indication of Celtic thirst, it must have been mighty indeed.
It's quite likely that the Phocaens of Massalia began to establish vineyards along the Rhone soon after their arrival. Since they had come from Asia Minor, where they had lived cheek to cheek with the expanding Persian empire, it's really not that far fetched to imagine that among the vine cuttings that they brought with them was the Syrah (Shiraz), named after the Persian city of Shiraz. Historical records indicate, that Syrah has been the red grape of the vineyards along the hillsides of the northern Rhone since time immemorial.
In our own time, the importance of Syrah has been rapidly increasing in France's largest vineyard, Languedoc-Roussillon.
My friends Karen Turner, an Australian native and husband Emmanuel Pageot, both gifted wine growers and vintners, have recently started a small winery in Gabian en Languedoc near historic Pezenas. Their Syrahs and Grenaches are the absolute purest expressions of these grapes I've ever encountered. Should their wines be symptomatic of the future quality of Languedoc wines, we are indeed in for some treats.
In the 17th. century, Syrah found a new, distant home on the hillsides of the Dutch Cape colony in South Africa. Thence the grape was taken to Australia 150 years ago, where it found a congenial haven and it has repaid this favor many times over.
In Australia, Shiraz/Syrah is the premier red grape. There it's often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, a signature blend of Australia. By consensus, one of the world's greatest wines is Penfold's Shiraz-based "Grange Hermitage."
On account of the "Rhone Rangers" of California, Syrah achieved some notoriety in the state, but the new-oak-craze (NOC) of California vintners prevents Syrah from establishing a distinct identity. However, it's never over until the fat lady sings. Unoaked Chardonnays are popping up right and left. Maybe Syrah producer will follow in their footsteps.
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| Etching by the Wine Meister, "Appellation Controlée:Rhone" |
NORTHERN RHONE
Only recently have the Syrah wines of the Northern Rhone become members of the galaxy of French über wines and the usual hype of importers and critics of wine (HIACOW) has driven prices through the roof.
COTE - ROTIE: Wine geeks like to blab about their "epiphany" wines. Now it's my turn. Two of the best wines I've ever drunk came from the the great Syrah vineyards of the Northern Rhone.
The "Cote-Rotie" (roasted slope), the northern most Syrah appellation, was the origin of one of my "epiphany wines." It was a 1982 Cote-Rotie from a hill side called "Cote Brune." This outstanding wine came from the cellars of Marius Gentaz of the Gentaz - Dervieux family. When Marius Gentaz passed away, unfortunately no one in the family was willing to soldier on. I have been told that most of his plots are now in the hands of Rene Rostaing, Gentaz' nephew.
For quite some time, Domaine Guigal with its single vineyard Cote Roties "La Ladonne" and "La Mouline" ($300!) has been sitting on the pinnacle of the appellation. Thanks, Guigal, for having introduced new oak and outrageous prices to Cote Rotie.
For less expensive examples ($50 and up) look no further than the producers that my good friends Anna Maria Knapp and Vernon Jacobs list in their aptly named volume "The Cheapskate's Guide to Wine." They recommend the domaines Jamet, Francois Villard and Burgaud. One may also consider the domaines of Rostaing, Ogier, Barge, Champet, and Jasmin.
There has been a string of good to very good vintages from 2001 to 2009. Cote Rotie needs to be cellared five to ten years to reach its full potential.
HERMITAGE: When John Livingston-Learmonth and Melvin Master, two British wine writers, published the first modern, authoritative book of the wines of the Rhone in 1978, the fad of seeking out salt-of-the-earth, "small growers,"was already in full swing.
The firm of Chapoutier has long been one of the largest producers and wine dealers of Rhone wines. Max Chapoutier, then the head of the firm, a man of very small stature, wanted everybody to like his wines and "was visibly disappointed when one has the ill grace to mention a small grower who perhaps is making better wine. Up he leaps from his seat - 'Well, if you like small growers so much, what about me?' - and his diminutive frame darts around the side of his desk."
While Max was in charge, some of the wines were offered as non-vintage wines, allowing the blending of different vintages. His non-vintage Hermitage "La Sizeranne" was the greatest Hermitage I've ever tasted.
His son now cultivates the firm's vineyards biodynamically. When I researched an article on biodynamics in 2007, I got to taste a slew of his extremely expensive wines and I thought them to be embarrassingly pedestrian. Wine critiques swoon over his wines. But so what. The truth lies in the bottle. The only wine I liked was a cheap Viognier from the Ardeche region, testimony to my deficient palate.
Domaine Jean-Louis Chave (vintners since 1432!) is the uncrowned king of Hermitage ($200) Although I had purchased their wines from the 1982 and 1983 vintages when they were still affordable, none of them ever came close to that bottle of "La Sizeranne" from diminutive Max Chapoutier.
Fellow Hermits such as Delas, Faurie, Sorrel, and Belle charge less for their wines and there is even a Co-op in the town of Tain that wine writer Hugh Johnson recommends, especially a cuvée called "Gambert de Loche."
Red Hermitage in good years needs to be cellared for a good number of years and is one of the longest lasting wines in the world.
CROZES-HERMITAGE: This is supposed to be the poor man's Hermitage. Until recently, the wines, however, were mostly undrinkable. I am happy to report that there has been an upswing in quality. Still, it continues to be the least memorable Syrah appellation of the Northern Rhone.
Good producers are Belle, Y. Chave, Domaines de Columbier. Crozes is available for around $20
ST. JOSEPH: The St. Joseph appellation runs along the Rhone for over 60 kilometers. The best wine villages are around the small town of Tournon-sur-Rhone.
My introduction to Syrah from the Rhone happened to be a delicious bottle of St. Joseph from the Domaine Raymond Trollat. Trollat retired some years later and nobody in the family was willing to carry on.
I had became intrigued by Syrah after reading John Livingston's book and one day I checked out the Northern Rhone Syrah selections at Kermit Lynch in Berkeley. I was eying the bottles from Cote-Rotie, Hermitage, and Cornas. Not sure what to buy, I flagged down a grumpy employee, who got more and more annoyed with me when I expressed surprise, that all these wines needed lengthy cellaring.
The guy finally stormed off in a huff, grabbed a bottle of Domaine Trollat St. Joseph and stuck it in my face. "Here, if you don't have the patience to let wines mature, take this, for God's sake."
Best thing he could have done. This was the beginning of a lasting love affair with the Syrahs from the Northern Rhone.The wine was dark purple and had a heady bouquet of black currents and raspberries. I was thrilled how easy it went down and how well it paired with hearty dishes.
For the few of us who still eat meat, a leg of lamb is the perfect spoil for great Syrah. This is the recommendation of the cheapskates Anna Maria and Vernon. The hunter of venison, boar, and game birds would do well, to combine his cooked prey with a bottle of Syrah.
Since the St, Joseph appellation has hugely expanded, it's important to select carefully. Currently, my favorite producer is P. Faury, whose delicious St. Joseph costs around $30. Other producers of note are B. Gripa, Domaine de Cheze, Gaillard, and Gonon.
CORNAS: Syrah from Cornas is "the most ample, enormous-bodied wine" (Livingston) of the Northern Rhone. The slopes of its cultivation can only be worked manually and led many growers to abandon viticulture in favor of fruit growing. Attempts to grow vines on the lower, more accessible slopes, delivered wines of inferior quality.
Most Cornas need at least six to eight years to become approachable.
Good growers of Cornas are Auguste Clape, Tierry-Allemand, Balthazar, and Noel Verset.
Cornas will cost between $50 and $80.
AUSTRALIA
For most of Australia's wine history, Shriaz (Syrah) has held pride of place among its other varieties (e.g. Riesling , Semillon). Let me remind you that one of the greatest wines in the world is the Syrah-based Penfold's Grange Hermitage.
Vines were planted in Australia immediately after the arrival of the first English fleet with its cargo of convicts in 1788. The convicts, often just petty thieves and pick pockets from London's East End, had saved their necks by opting to spend the rest of their lives in the penal colony.
Shiraz has been cultivated in Australia since 1837, when cuttings of the variety where brought to the antipodes from the vineyards of the Cape of Good Hope.
Unlike North America, almost all of Australia enjoys a Mediterranean climate, and is suitable for vine cultivation. Until the modernization of wine making that began in California, Australia produced mostly "dessert" wines, that bore some resemblance to Port and Sherry.
Temperature controlled fermentation of white wines revolutionized the wine industry and whites became even more popular than reds. Within one generation, Australia became a wine drinking country with a consumption per person that is twice that of Britain and thrice that of the United States.
Nearly 70% of Australia's wine production is of everyday quality.The wines at the top end of the market were refined with technical wizardry. Lacking any kind of appellation system, open competition at numerous wine shows became essential to spur on amazing leaps in quality.
South Australia with its capital Adelaide is the heart of Shiraz country. Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and Coonawarra produce some of the greatest Shiraz in Australia.
Back in 2000, I participated in my first blind tasting of quality Shiraz. The wines topped out at $55 and looking at my notes now, there was not a single wine from the eight bottle line-up that I found below par. A bottle of 1997 Shiraz from Kilikanoon (Clare) for $30 was my favorite wine, although it came in last in the tasting (you got to be willing to stick your neck out and be made fun of). The winner was a 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz blend, Penfold's Bin 389, that I had ranked last. If anything, I like consistency.
In 2003 my "Uptown" wine group tasted some high end Australian Shiraz, that one of our members had personally searched out on location. Prices ranged from $25 to $105. For once I agreed with the group and placed the 2001 Kaesler "Old Bastard" from Barossa Valley ($105) in first place, and it wasn't just because of the name. The group ranked the $25 Possum's Shiraz second. Sad to say that the wringer, a Pax Cellars Syrah Castelli-Knight from the Russian River Valley in California ($42) came in last in my rankings and the group ranked it 7th. The groups least favorite wine was the Jasper Hill Georgia's Paddock from Heathcote that cost $72. There you have it. The Possum beat the the much more expensive Paddock.
I was blown away by the tasting. These were different creatures from the Rhone Syrahs that I had come to love. Still, I couldn't but admire elegance combined with power, that the top wines exhibited.
Several years later, we tasted the exact same wines again. They were still good, but a noticeable decline had already set in.
My Australian spies recommend the following Shiraz should you not belong to the 1%ers, which of course is your own damn fault.
LESS THAN $10: Mike Press Wines Adelaide Hills Shiraz, Angoves Butterfly Ridge Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon ( Shiraz with Cab is a unique Australian signature blend), Yalumba Oxford Landing Shiraz,
Jacob's Creek Shiraz, Lindemans Bin 50 Shiraz.
$10 TO $20: Rosemount Shiraz/Cabernet, Yalumba Barossa Shiraz/Viognier, Knappstein Clare Valley Shiraz.
Huon Hooke, wrote the Australian chapter of the 2009 Wine Report. The final "t" in "Report" is silent as this project has the blessing of Stephen Colbert. Hooke's best Shiraz bargains are as follows: Lindeman's "Reserve Shiraz," Penny's Hill "Red Dot Shiraz/Viognier," and Yalumba "Barossa Shiraz/Viognier."
For 1%ers, Australian Shiraz top out with Penfolds Grange Bin 95 at $500.
CALIFORNIA
Are the Rhone Rangers still riding high? Yes and no. Yes, they still have their yearly Rhone Ranger tasting, but few California Syrah producers seem to understand that you shouldn't smother the aromatics of this great grape with excessive amounts of new oak. All you get then is just another powerful red that could be a Cab or a Zin, or whatever.
This is indeed a sad state of affairs, considering that California has the ideal climate and soils for this once very hip grape. Pinot Noir is now the vin du jour and Syrah has been relegated to the margins. I believe this will not change until producers drink a couple of Syrahs from the Northern Rhone and find out how Syrah is vinified there.
By the way, "Petite Sirah" is a totally different animal and was once used as blending juice to give structure to blowsy Zins. Varietal P.S. wines were often painfully tannic, but some growers now know how to tame the beast.
Santa Barbara American Viticultural Area (AVA) and the Monterey AVA: Vintners appear to be suffering less from NOC. Excellent Syrah producers are Ojai, Andrew Murry, Aubin Cellars, Harrison Clarke, Jorian Hill, Qupe, Rusack, and Zaka Mesa.
Some of these recommendations come from Magid Nazari, owner of Ludig's fine Wine and Cigar store in beautiful downtown San Anselmo. He is one of the few owners of a wine store who personally tastes all his selections. Luckily, he doesn't seem to smoke all the incredibly tempting smelling cigars that rest in his walk-in humidor. If so, I imagine he would be on life support by now.
Napa Valley AVA: Joseph Phelps, world renown producer of "Insignia" Cabernet, and in tandem with his winemaker Walter Schug were early Syrah pioneers indeed. Their first Syrah grapes came from the Christian Brothers, and since 1978 from Phelps' own vineyards. Phelps now produces a whole line of excellent Rhone style wines, blends and varietals under the brand name "Vin du Mistral."
Jade Mountain Winery, Signorello, Truchard are also good producers.
Sonoma AVA: Geyser Peak
"Downtown Wine Country," (mostly Berkeley and Oakland): Edmonds St. John
Russian River AVA: Dehlinger Winery. This Pinot Noir specialist is obviously multi-talented, making great Syrah. His former winemaker, Fred Scherrer produces a slew of excellent wines and his Syrah follows the Dehlinger model.
Sonoma Coast: Radio Coteau
WASHINGTON STATE
The 2012 Hugh Johnson Pocket Guide to Wine selected 57 wineries that represent Washington and Idaho. 20 out of these 57 have earned recognition in the guide for their Syrahs. That's more than a quarter of all the wineries. Something is brewing in the Southwest when it comes to Syrah. We can only hope that the producers up there do not suffer from the oak disease like many of their California colleagues.
K-Vintners with its "Syrah The Beautiful" seems to be leading the pack. Charles Smith, the owner of the winery is listed as one of the "Fastest Improving Producers" in the 2009 "Wine Report"
Other notable producers: Alexandria Nicole Cellars, Barnard Griffin, Basel Cellars, Betz, and Columbia Winery.
My "Northern Spy," who creates art and runs a restaurant on beautiful Lopez Island, one of the St. Juan Islands, recommends Reynvaan ($30-40), and Willow Crest ($9) on the opposite end of the spectrum. Then there is Andrew Rich of Oregon, who makes Syrah with Washington State grapes ($18)
Columbia Crest is likely to be the bargain hunter's paradise.
Minimal plantings are experimented with in Argentina. There is even some credible Syrah coming out of some hot spots in old Deutschland.
Okay, get thee to your wine merchant and crack open a bottle of good Syrah with supper tonight, now that winter is finally upon us.
Ever since cholesterol became the boogey man that it now is, people have asked, gosh, golly, how come the Gauloises (as the Romans called those who dwelled in Gallia, not the cigarettes) can indulge in all their fatty cheeses (there are 365 in France), sausages, pâtés, and best of all, foie gras, and end up having a much lower incident of heart disease than health obsessed Yanks. 
