Rod,
Great work; I've always loved your writing and it's great to read you again. It wasn't too long ago that I used a 1998 Dehlinger Syrah in a wine pairing and they are a far cry from what we're being tasted on now. A producer who I admire is Lagier-Meredith from Mount Veeder. We just conducted a 10 year vertical of their wines it just proved how the wines can evolve when they are protected from over-ripening and over-making. They had never used new wood - 1year old barrels thru 4 year old barrels. Thanks for the great post!
Shayn, I’m betting that Arnot-Roberts you’re describing was the Clary Vineyard, the same one that blew me away recently. That vineyard does experience the kind of diurnal temp swing that you mention in connection w/Walla Walla’s continental climate, though we get it around here (western Sonoma County) as a marine influence. Good point, but I think it’s more than just preserving the acidity. It seems to galvanize the fruit in a way that’s hard to mimic in the cellar w/acid additions or other manipulation. Deeper color, for example (although you can do that w/enzymes). And Greg, I agree that syrah is a lot more like pinot than cab in character, and in how much manipulation it will tolerate. Thanks for the insight into the nerves of steel it takes to make a wine that expresses (insert the T word here, if you dare), as we all seem to agree the Gramercy wines do. It takes experience, faith and conviction to know that a greenish-smelling fermentation can ripen into a luscious wine. I’m surprised that knowledge isn’t more common—even in my limited experience working a few crushes it seems axiomatic that a fermentation that smells jammy will yield a jammy wine. Of course, jammy wines tend to nail the scores…
This a great discussion going on here. I can smell so much Love and Passion in the above posts.
I have got to admit it: It is my favorite black grape. It is sexy, sensual and intriguing. Sounds like a woman.
It is great with food but it is a meal by itself: crushed peppercorns, cured meat, smoke and bacon, hints of violet and dark chocolate. It has so much to offer. Actually, I am recalling a one of my favorite pairings of Syrah and Squab Tartine with truffle and mushroom duxelle: Yummy!
Mr.Smith, you are very right- sommeliers have become very powerful force. We are on the front line. We sell the wine to our guests. We can influence consumer tastes. Some people would not like it, many usually find their new favorite. We have got to keep trying!
There are some very good domestic Syrahs on the market from both California and Washington. I will add some names to the above mentioned : Pax, DeLile Cellars"Doyene" and McCrea. There is a supply, we need to work on the demand. What a great initiative is the Walla Walla University! It makes me think about the Pinot Camp in Oregon couple years ago. It works. It is an incredible marketing tool and an opportunity to experience first hand what winemakers and grape growers are creating in the bottle.
Australians and people, looking fast profits created bad reputation for the Shiraz/Syrah grape. They have been collecting the dividends now and we, all know it is not going in a good direction. Nationally, Sideways killed kind of the market for many other grape varieties but Pinot Noir. However, they are out there people willing to try and experience not the usual offerings.
I believe, it is about Education, Passion and Dedication.
Cheers for all of you, the Determined ones!
Rod - great article and one that is very in touch with the market. Selling Syrah is an uphill battle. The Aussies and now the Californians did/are doing a great job of manipulating the varietal to the point that the consumer has no idea what to expect from the varietal. It’s the first varietal where the ”formula” doesn’t work. Formula = high brix/late picking, excessive manipulation and additives, RS and copious new oak.
Syrah is NOT Cabernet. In fact, in my opinion it is much closer to Pinot Noir. It is a varietal that require minimal handling and will quickly be dominated by oak.
Syrah requires early picking - if it tastes sweet in the vineyard, its too ripe. In Washington, we are almost always the first winery to pick Syrah at our contract vineyards. Many pick as much as a month later. Syrah should smell a bit green when it is fermenting. In fact, I have a saying that if the fermenting Syrah didn’t at one point scare the heck out of me, I picked it too late. All those green fermenting flavors turn into smoke and pepper with age. I also think Syrah require some whole cluster/stem during fermentation, but lets not get too carried away. Syrah is deeply disturbed by racking. Too many wineries throw it in a tank at the slightest hint of reduction. Syrah fights back by closing up aromatically. With risk of sounding like a cliché – minimalist handling.
I do believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel however. But it requires a big leap for most winemakers/wineries/corp execs. Stop thinking about the score and make a wine that is distinctive and balanced with minimal oak influence. But too many in the wine business are too afraid to make wine like this. What if we only score an 89? Disaster! And something that most wineries won’t be able to stomach because making wine in the above style will hurt point scores.
We have been very successful selling Syrah. It takes some coaxing to sell – lots of flights, many rejections, but we are willing to trade some short term hardship for long term greatness. We love when people say “Wow, this actually tastes like Syrah.” Or “This doesn’t taste like California.” So there are some of us out there fighting the fight, because we believe that Syrah does deserve a place on the American wine list. And it’s a grape that reeks of “terroir.” There I said the word. So it might require many plane trips and speeches at wine festivals, but we’re up for the fight. It’s a worthwhile grape that deserves respect and celebration.