South Australia and South Africa, Rhône and The Rocks AVA in Walla Walla Valley: one red grape rules supreme.
Whether labelled Syrah or Shiraz, the wine inside the bottle is from the same grape. The styles, however, may be quite different.
Syrah and Shiraz: the different styles
France’s Northern Rhône is the spiritual home of Syrah, from Côte-Rôtie through St-Joseph, Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage and down to Cornas.
As a general rule, wines from elsewhere in the world labelled as Syrah will follow this Northern Rhône style. Think fine-grained tannins, higher acidity and a lean fruit profile with moderate body and alcohol. And, if matured in oak, that oak will be French.
South Australia, meanwhile – particularly in the Barossa and McLaren Vale – is the home of Shiraz, which was how the Syrah grape became known Down Under.
Many countries use the Shiraz name for wines that share that traditional Aussie style. This is generally richer and ripe-fruited, and fuller in both body and alcohol. Maturation is often in American oak.
Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of 18 great examples of Syrah and Shiraz wines around the world
These distinct styles first emerged as a natural consequence of the different growing conditions and climates (ie, the grapes in South Australia getting more baked from the sun and reaching higher potential alcohol than their Rhône counterparts). But winemaking decisions also influence the style of wine.
This is why producers in South Australia and beyond – particularly South America, South Africa, the US, Canada and even southern France – might choose to call a wine Syrah or Shiraz to easily denote its style.
Whatever the style, this grape can produce wines of great elegance that age beautifully. Some of its distinct characteristics are intense black fruit, savoury tapenade and distinct pepper spice, and medium to high tannins. There are often herbal liquorice notes as well as a violet lift.
Syrah/Shiraz is shown to contain more of a compound called rotundone, responsible for peppery aromas in wine.
The grape’s birthplace
The origins of Syrah were once a matter of much debate, many speculating it might hail from Syracuse in Sicily, ancient Persia (the city of Shiraz in ancient Persia, modern-day Iran, being the reason for its Australian name) or descend from an ancient Rhône variety known to produce fine wine in Roman times.
But in 1998 DNA profiling confirmed the variety’s parents as the white grape Mondeuse Blanche and the black-skinned Dureza. These rare varieties are local to the Rhône-Alpes region of France.
Studies also show that, with great probability, Pinot Noir is a great-grandparent of Syrah, and both Viognier and Mondeuse Noire seem to be closely related to Syrah, too.
Some northern Rhône growers distinguish between a small-berried, more concentrated version of Syrah, which they call Petite Syrah, and the larger-berried Grosse Syrah. Most ampelographers reject this distinction.
Petite Sirah (spelled with an i, not a y), on the other hand, is a crossing of Syrah with the obscure Rhône-Alpes grape Peloursin and popular in California for its robust, tannic, earthy nature. Petite Sirah is also known as Durif, notably in Australia.
France – home of Syrah
Until the 1970s, French Syrah plantings were mostly concentrated in and around the vineyards of the Rhône Valley. Since then, however, Syrah has had an extraordinary surge in popularity throughout southern France, particularly in Languedoc-Roussillon, and it now is the country’s third most planted red wine.
Syrah is the queen grape of the Northern Rhône where it makes the muscular, deep-coloured, ageworthy, savoury and peppery wines of Hermitage. In Côte-Rôtie it makes more perfumed, slightly floral and refined wines, namely when co-fermented with a small percentage of Viognier.
Crozes-Hermitage, St-Joseph and Cornas are other appellations worth looking at, offering earlier drinking and great-value examples.
While Grenache is usually the key grape in Southern Rhône reds, Syrah also plays a key part, particularly in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Langmeil’s Freedom vineyard in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, planted in 1843, is the world’s oldest surviving Shiraz. Credit: Dragan Radocaj/Langmeil
Australia – home of Shiraz
In 1832, James Busby, the ‘father of Australian viticulture’ took cuttings of Syrah (then called Scyras) to Australia from Montpelier. It flourished in the new colony of New South Wales and from there across the whole country. Shiraz eventually became Australia’s most planted variety.
Langmeil, in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, has the world’s oldest surviving Shiraz vines, planted in 1843.
Of all Australia’s Shiraz wines, the most renowned might be the traditionally rich, intense, ripe wines from the Barossa.
The Barossa (comprising the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley) is considered by many to be the ‘spiritual home’ of Australian Shiraz, much due to the iconic status of several historic producers including Penfolds, Henschke and Yalumba.
An Eden Valley Syrah won a Best in Show gong for the grape at the 2024 Decanter World Wine Awards.
McLaren Vale, especially old-vine pockets in Blewitt Springs, as well as up in the cool Adelaide Hills are also known for their elegant Syrah styles.
Syrah/Shiraz as an international variety
Syrah/Shiraz is the sixth most planted grape in the world.
It was enthusiastically planted in California in the 1990s by the so-called Rhône Rangers, a group of winemakers determined to demonstrate that it may be even better suited to California than Cabernet Sauvignon. Today there are myriad styles from blockbuster examples from Paso Robles to ethereal elegance from Santa Barbara and Sonoma.
Elsewhere in America, Washington State also produces fine, bright examples, notably from the Walla Walla Valley, and its unique AVA of The Rocks of Milton Freewater which straddles Washington and Oregon.
Syrah is arguably South Africa’s most exciting grape, having risen to star status over the past 15 years thanks mainly to dynamic producers in the Swartland region. Now there are world-class Syrah and Shiraz styles throughout the Cape winelands.
In New Zealand, Central Otago, Waiheke Island and Hawke’s Bay, particularly its pocket of Gimblett Gravels, are the home of the country’s top Syrahs. Even though the variety represents just 1% of plantings, the quality is exceptional and worth seeking out.
While Argentina has more planted, Chile is South America’s Syrah star, thanks to high-altitude and/or cool-climate coastal vineyards. The wines represent excellent value too.
Italy, Spain (mostly in Castilla-La Mancha) and Portugal (Alentejo) make some notable Syrahs. And there are fine examples as far afield as Israel, Greece, Mexico and China.
