Picture Credit: Cave de Tain

In the vast world of wine, where every label holds a story, every cork releases a bouquet of flavours, and every sip unveils a journey, there exists a captivating enigma: Syrah or Shiraz? The mere mention of these names conjures up images of sprawling vineyards, sun-drenched hillsides, and glasses brimming with liquid poetry. But what lies beneath this linguistic duality? Are they two distinct grape varieties, or are we merely unraveling different threads of the game vinous tapestry?

Is it Syrah or Shiraz? Are they two different grape varieties or is there more to it? What is it between those two? In modern times, the name “Shiraz” has been primarily used in Australia and other New World countries. Is that still the case though? Syrah and Shiraz can both be used to refer to the same grape, as by DNA they are the same. In this case we need to have a closer look at what is in the bottle. 

The use of Syrah or Shiraz is nowadays more synonymous to its style than only referring to an Australian Shiraz. When you think about an Australian Shiraz, we sure have a completely different wine on our minds than when we think about a Cornas (Rhône) am I right? So, when you come across a bottle that states Shiraz, expect big, bold, and fearless whereas the label shows Syrah, expect powerful elegance. Get into detail with me below to find out the true differences between these two styles. (When I talk about Syrah in the article, I only refer to the variety itself, when I discuss Syrah and Shiraz I will be talking about different styles.)

Pronunciation

SEAR-RAH for one and SHEE-RAZ for the other. 

It's Origin and Family Ties

It is native to area of southeastern France, bordering Switzerland and Italy. When it comes to family ties, Syrah is a natural cross between Mondeuse Blanche x Dureza. 

Climate and Soils

Syrah is a very adaptable variety and can be grown in quite environmentally different regions, but ideally it grows in moderately warm viticultural areas like the Northern Rhône for instance. It most definitely likes to grow on stony, granitic soils (Cornas). It just does best in areas with some cooling influences.  

Syrah became a quite popular variety in the past 2 decades, even though we might see a shift to more lighter style varieties, back in 2004, Syrah was estimated to be the world’s 7th most grown variety with 142,600 hectares planted worldwide. You can find Syrah here:

• France, Rhône Valley, South-West, Provence, Corsica, Languedoc-Roussillon – 37%
• Australia – 36% 
• USA, California, Washington State – 10%
• South Africa – 6% 
• Other, Spain, Argentina, Switzerland, Israel, Greece, i.e. – 4%
• Italy – 3 %
• Chile – 2%
• New Zealand, Hawke’s Bay, Waiheke – 2%

Vine Manual: How does Syrah Grow?

Syrah may be a very adaptable variety to its growing climate but there must be taken some care into consideration when growing it. For instance, Syrah has no fruitful basal buds and has weak canes. It is tied to stakes in Northern Rhône and is traditionally pruned via Guyot, a “long” cane pruning method leaves 6-10 buds, that it still produces enough yields, even though it is a vigorous variety in growth, doesn’t necessarily mean a variety that is high yielding, especially if you don’t treat it the right way. 

• Late budding
• Early Ripening
• Withstand drought-like conditions. 
• Wind sensitive.
• Weak canes
• Susceptible to mites and botrytis bunch rot
• “Syrah Decline Virus” in which the leaves turn read and the graft point breaks up and the fine dies. 
• Prone to reduction. 
• Vigorous variety that needs careful training and tying in to protect it from the Mistral wind. 
• Guyot Trained or Bush Vines but staked according to the échalas training method, in the Rhône region to protect it from the severe Mistral winds. 
• Dark-skinned
• Loose bunches with big grapes, meaning susceptibility to various mildew diseases is minimal. 

It’s all in the Name Baby.

You might not even have heard of all its synonyms like I didn’t either, the most known is Shiraz. The other synonyms are Balsaina, Candive, Hignin Noir, Schiras, Sirac, Syra, Syrac, Sereine, there are known to be even more. 

Tickle Your Taste Buds: Syrah / Shiraz Taste Profile

We can’t actually discuss a ‘general’ understanding of taste profile to Syrah/Shiraz in my opinion. So, I will talk about both, Syrah and Shiraz so you can truly see the difference between the two.

Syrah

We all know that different climates give different styles of wine. When it comes to a more moderate climate like the Northern Rhône or some parts of the Walla Walla AVA in Washington State, Syrah tends to produce wines with a deep ruby colour with a dark purple hue, with medium-plus acidity, medium alcohol, medium-plus to high levels of tannins with medium to full bodied wines. With a medium-pronounced intensity of aromas. 

It can be quite floral in its youth and develop white and black pepper aromas and herbaceous notes when it ages. Some even display tanned leather and smoke scent, while the fruit in these wines is very dark like black currant, blackberry, black plum, violet, mint, liquorice. Because of its good acidity and tannin levels, it can produce wines that can age quite well. Old world style of Syrah is generally produced in a more earthy and savoury style in comparison to
the New World where fruit-forward notes are more common. 

Aromas and Flavours

blackcurrant, black berry, black plum, violet, mint, liquorice, white and black pepper, sun dried tomatoes, herbs, cacao, fountain-pen ink, leather, gamey barnyard (reductive notes). 

Shiraz

On the other hand, in hot climates such as in Crete, Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale regions of Australia, you’ll find Shiraz being more consistently full-bodied with jammier fruit. Compared to Syrah the wines are often richer and bolder, with higher viscosity from higher alcohol. This bodyweight can obscure the fact that tannins are often more robust than the finely structured Rhône versions.

Shiraz tends to produce wines with a deep ruby colour with a dark purple hue, with medium- plus acidity, high alcohol, medium-plus levels of tannins, full bodied wines with an amazing texture. With a medium-plus intensity of aromas. The prevailing Shiraz tends more towards bright fruit flavours.

The top wines can age for several decades. The wines become less dense in colour, and savoury aromas, plus oak vanillin’s, begin to replace the primary fruit characteristics. Shiraz has often seen oak, where, specially in Rhône, Syrah rarely sees any oak. 

Aromas and Flavours

Blueberries, blackcurrants, black cherries. Secondary notes of chocolate often with an accent of pepper and spice notes like liquorice, anise, and earthy leather notes, toast, charred wood, vanilla, cloves, tobacco. 

Syrah / Shiraz is the perfect blending partner.

Syrah is such a good and extremely useful blending partner. The thick-skins of the grape create a high tannin content and contribute a deep ruby-red colour with a purple hue to the blend with an intense purple hue. It is widely used to all kinds of grape varieties, red and white even. When it comes to Southern Rhône blends, Syrah adds structure, fruit and colour to the blend. 

Because Syrah has quite a reductive nature and it does not bond with oxygen very easily it can display, because of this, leathery, gamey barnyard notes. And because of its reductive nature it is often blended with oxidative varieties such as Grenache to neutralize each other’s nature and add depth and complexity to a blend. So, Grenache’s oxidative character will be balanced by Syrah’s reductive nature and vice versa. 

Nowadays lesser extraction is used by using, whole bunch fermentation and/or reducing levels of new oak. Often made in open fermentation tanks with manual or mechanised punch downs for softer extraction of colour and tannins. 

Did you Know?

• From the 1980s to the mid-2000s, Syrah increased in planted hectares from approximately 10,000 ha. to over 450,000 ha. 
• Syrah makes some of the darkest red wines in the world. 
• For Syrah to thrive in the vineyard and be successful, the correct choice of rootstock is required to ensure that grapes don’t excessively shrivel prior to harvest. 
• Grapes in Australia tend to reach higher levels of potential alcohol. Leading to differences in winemaking approaches and wine styles.
• Did you know that Viognier is co-planted, co-harvested and co-fermented with Syrah in the Northern Rhône (Côte Rotie). And that Viognier can lift the aromas of the Syrah and stabilise’ the colour of Syrah even more, due to Viogniers abilities as a grape variety. 
• It it often used as a blending varietal, especially in Southern France where it is known as the GSM-blend (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre).
• The name “Scyras” was used to describe the grape in the earliest Australian documents, and “Shiraz” has been speculated to have come about through.

We might not have a definitive answer to what Syrah or Shiraz is other than perhaps a deeper appreciation for the intricacies of wine. We know they are the same varietal; we now know that Shiraz is a name we relate to Australia’s big, bold reds, and it’s also used to indicate a certain style. As where Syrah might be the more elegant of the two, with fresher fruit, it displays a whole lot of character, especially when grown on structured soils that provide the wine with power and structure. So, who says that a Syrah can’t be big and bold either right? Just remember the general rule when you see a Syrah think juicier, complexity, dark fruit, and spice. As where you see Shiraz think big, bold, with lighter black fruits, jammy, higher alcohol and a power that takes you up in the late hours of the night (or early bed 😉).

So, whether you raise a glass of bold Shiraz from Down Under or savor the nuanced elegance of Syrah from the Rhône Valley, remember that in every bottle lies a story waiting to be uncorked. 

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Resources

WSET Diploma Study Syllabus - Accessed on April 8, 2024

Wine Scholar Guild – French Wine Scholar Study Manual - Accessed on April 8, 2024

Jancis Robinson, “Syrah” – Accessed on April 8, 2024

Wine Searcher, “Shiraz and Syrah Wine” - Accessed on April 8, 2024

Wine Folly, “Syrah” – Accessed on April 8, 2024s

MDPI, “Concerning the Etiology of Syrah Decline: A Fresh [ … ] Wine Industry”,
December 21, 2022 – Accessed on April 8, 2024.