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In Reply to: RE: Syrah tasting... posted by mkuller on January 14, 2011 at 10:32:11
As someone who makes 600 cases or so of Syrah every year it's my duty to stand up for my beloved variety!!!
First off, Syrah is not the next great thing...sales for Syrah are in the toilet!!! Which leads to a popular joke in the winemaking world: "What's the difference between VD and Syrah? You can get rid of VD!" thank you, thank you, I'll be in at the Sands all next week.
Ok, maybe its not that bad...I sell plenty out of the tasting room and plenty in Washington and Oregon, but overall its not looking pretty...why?
The same thing that makes Syrah my favorite as a winemaker kills it in the marketplace. Syrah is very different depending on how its made and where it grows. Think about it...what does a huge Australian Syrah have in common with an earthy funky Rhone...absolutely nothing.
Your average consumer has no idea what they are getting when they buy a bottle of Syrah...it could be a giant high alcohol, very heavily extracted fruit bomb of a wine or it could be soft and gentle terrior driven earthy food wine...or anywhere in between.
Syrah tastes very very different depending on where it grows...hugely different. I pull Syrah from two blocks in the same vineyard here in Walla Walla. They are maybe 300 yards apart, but are farmed very differently. They taste very very different.
Here in Washington a lot of people have been treating Syrah just like Cab and Merlot...you are starting to see that change quite a bit...lots of co-fermentation, lots of fermenting on stems, cooler vineyard sites, less oak, more gentle approach in the winery..it makes for a much different wine.
If you are tasting wines that are as big as Zins, then you are drinking the wrong wines! Syrah doesn't have to be like that and shouldn't in my book...and neither should Pinot, but that is a rant for another day!!!!!!
Steve
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