Guides

Articles

Media

E-Learning

Resources

Community

Explore

So, Syrah?

Rod Smith

So, Syrah?

SO WHAT’S UP W/SYRAH?
          I’m pleased to have a guest spot on this site. Sommeliers have become a powerful positive force in the wine world and I’m glad to participate in your discourse.
          I’ve been thinking about California Syrah lately, and how disappointing it’s been. More than two decades ago it was so up-and-coming—but it never really got here. The grape and its wines are wine royalty, yet few California producers hang their hats on it, and fewer still have made consistently strong showings.
          I remember when the first “true” Syrahs (as opposed to Petite Sirah or whatever) came out of the gate in the early 1980s. It was really exciting, to a new generation of wine geeks at least. We’d plan dinner parties around new releases from Duxoup or Joseph Phelps. (Fred Dame—do you remember how intense that early Syrah scene was?) In fact, it was Joe Phelps, the inveterate Rhone ranger, who established our first significant true Syrah plantings.
Within a few vintages there were enough varietal Syrahs on the market to mount meaningful comparative tastings. Those early wines were exciting, not just as novelties but as credible echoes of the Rhone. I was particularly interested because I’d been getting Syrah religion at the source in Rhone caves with vignerons like Clape, Guigal, and Jaboulet, tasting with the Druids (that’s how it felt, anyway) through barrels of wine that clearly spoke of varying terroirs and vintages. If California could produce expressive Syrahs like that, I thought, we might actually have a new dimension in California wine.
          Then we all watched in horror as the early promise—of a new tool for exploring and expressing different terroirs in our magnificent coastal and mountain terrains—was broken by a flood of rather syrupy, high-octane red wine labeled Syrah for no apparent reason. Many strike me as little more than grape-flavored booze. Perhaps not coincidentally, I’m hearing reports from the field that Syrah is increasingly a tough sell. (Note: I feel like something similar has happened in eastern Washington, although that’s probably a topic for another post.)
          Can we count the paving stones on the downward path? Start with indiscriminate planting, overcropping, and excessive manipulation—particularly oak overkill. (Why do so many California winemakers think they have to make Napa Valley cabernet out of every grape variety?) I’m aware through contacts in various cellars that quite a number of highly-regarded winemakers freely doctor their wines with enzymes, tannin, concentrate, etcetera (all of which I consider substance abuse). And of course, these days it’s pretty par for the course to pick the grapes overripe and then add acid and water, which is like trying to balance a table by sawing a little off this leg and a little off that. And then there’s what I consider excessive ripeness. I’ve heard several winemakers say, “Twenty-six brix is the new twenty-four!” Personally, I liked the old twenty-four. If the variety matches the site and the vines are balanced, the grapes will be plenty ripe and the wine won’t taste like a mess of mismatched adjectives.
          Voila--there in my glass the other night was an Arnot-Roberts Syrah (Clary Vineyard ’06). It had that whole peppery, leathery, minerally thing going on, intense but not dense, with cut-glass definition and brisk natural acidity that cut right through my friend Sebastian’s pork rillette. All at just 13 percent alcohol, without de-boozing. And I thought of other classically-styled Syrahs I’ve enjoyed recently, from Dehlinger, Edmunds St. John, and the like. I wonder whether Syrahs like that will always be anomalous, or if they finally signal a trend toward the coalescence of some Syrah ideal?
          So where’s it all going? Will California Syrah producers continue following the score-mongers toward one size (extra large) fits all? Or will they rally around nuanced expression and distinctive character, perhaps leading the way toward the paradigm shift so many of us have been hoping for?

  • Well, this gets curiouser and curiouser. I also like Sancerre (love it, in fact) and am not so big on Cal sauvs, so that’s yet another reason to hie me to McDowell Valley. Actually, I just left a voice mail for Bill Crawford, hoping to talk to him Monday and get up there next week to see those old vines and taste some syrah. Thanks, David.

  • Unfortunately I lost my notes after visiting Esterlina (easy to do there). So when I visited the McDowell Valley Tasting room 2 days later I forgot what their specialty was.. Doh..Their Viognier was really clean, precise and minerally. Not a big Cal Viognier fan but it "Wowed" me.. The Sav. Blanc hit all the notes that I like about Sancerre, Clean, grapefruit/lemon little wet grass good acidity and again great minerality..I think the best Cal Sav. Blanc I have tasted not a big fan there either.They were not pouring their Syrah that day. Afterwards I drove out to the vineyards and was taking pictures when the vineyard manager stopped and told me to check out the Syrah and Grenache old vines..behind the warehouses.. It was then that I realized that I missed out on trying their Syrah..I think they have something unique and interesting going on there..kinda like Esterlina's Cole Ranch single vineyard AVA..

  • Interesting, David. I remember Bill Crawford being kind of disenfranchised, and I lost track of the whole thing after the genetic revelations when it seemed like things were up in the air. But it sounds like Bill came out w/the whole thing and carried the heritage material forward. That makes me want to get up there and check it out. What do you think of their wines?

  • Sorry, for going backwards a little here..Its a little confusing but the Keehn's who purchased McDowell Valley vineyards in 1970 had a son named William. And since the late 80's a William Crawford is the Winemaker/ Grower/Owner. I'm assuming he is their son?.He pulled the old 1919 vineyard in 1984 and propagated a new block using wood, clonal selection sourced from that vineyard..Sounds like he is working hard with UC  Davis on matching Grade A  Syrah clones with specific sites, pruning, trellising etc..It's all on their website..The vineyard  has a long interesting history of California Syrah..They seem to have a strong minerality "Niche"in their wines from their soil..

  • Right, that's old school Burgundy, and a number of Cal producers have attended that class and applied the take-home lesson: blends work. Like petite sirah and zinfandel, or cab and merlot. So, why not be open about it?

App Store Google Play
© 2025 GuildSomm

Join to continue reading.

GuildSomm members enjoy exclusive access to educational content, classes, and a robust professional network. If you're a wine professional, GuildSomm is for you! Our members represent every facet of the industry and stage of a beverage career.

Join now