Decanter Cellar: 16 must-try Syrah

A bottle that was opened for pickers on the last day of harvest. It offers leaf tea, raspberry, smoked duck and stunning sous-bois complexity. Light-bodied now, with fine tannins and bright acidity. It has a touch of raspberry pip bitterness on the palate. Lots of umami flavour now, with porcini mushroom and wood smoke. Sublime elegance. A wine from a hot, dry vintage – not considered one of the greatest in Côte-Rôtie, but this is excellent.

Incredibly vibrant and defined black fruits. So fresh and juicy, remarkably fruity and generous for this terroir considering the wet start to the vintage. Focused and fresh, very direct with great purity and acidity. Will age well and will always be a chiselled style. From very old vines on granitic terroir. Around 80% aged in small foudres, 20% in barriques.

A true beauty. It shows signature Boushey characteristics, such as violets, brine, and turned earth. From the blocks planted in 1996. ‘Boushey sits in a cold trap,’ says winemaker Louis Skinner. ‘It's a late site and typically two to three weeks behind. The day warms much later there, and Dick's viticulture gets a lot of light to the grapes early. He manages the canopy to get that sunlight exposure.’ It is beautiful with blue fruits, dried savoury herbs, lavender florals and a fantastic earth-driven depth. The palate is a masterclass in complexity, with blood orange, wild berries and gorgeous wild herbs that flash against the delicious umami depth: an American classic, terroir and purity on display.

One of the icons of Eden Valley, Henschke is pure class. This savoury Syrah has bucket loads of black olive tapenade and smoked charcuterie aromas, with brooding black fruit rumbling underneath and a wild streak of spearmint and forest herbs. A classic from one of Australia’s longest-running wineries.

A 100% Syrah wine with real presence, complexity, harmony and depth. Spicy and rich yet lithe and fresh. Serious ageing potential but drinking so beautifully now that it will be a challenge not to enjoy its youthful flush of plummy blackberry and floral spiciness. Distinct cracked pepper on the nose, with fine tapenade/herb notes. The palate is dense, mineral, graceful and satisfyingly complex. Very fine tannins and a nervy vein of acidity. This is very smart – flagship NZ Syrah. No rough edges but not homogenised either. 68% new French oak for almost 20 months, 32% seasoned French oak for 16 months. Average vine age is 19 years.

Coming from the highest-elevation vineyard in Chile, this is by all means an extreme Syrah. Deliciously ripe black-fruit notes reflect the intensity of the sun up high in the Andes, while the incredible brightness and freshness reflect the really cool nights at 2,206m elevation. Engaging, brooding and inky, with savoury aromas of bacon fat and black olives.

The Que Syrah has become a classic and a standout in the Arnot-Roberts lineup. The vineyard is one of the oldest Syrah plantings on the Sonoma Coast, a gem of a site for cool-climate Syrah in California. Planted in 1993, it’s located 800 feet above sea level, just 4 miles from the Pacific Ocean. The Arnot Roberts team began farming the vineyard in 2013 and purchased it in 2016. The 2023 vintage is exceptional, with slightly higher residual sugar than previous releases, adding richness to the palate. You’ll get that classic black pepper note and a lovely salty, coastal freshness. On the palate, a savoury, almost meaty character mixes well with the spices. The finish is long and smooth. With only six barrels made from this 2.5-acre vineyard, it’s a limited and expressive wine, balancing elegance and intensity beautifully.

This serious – and seriously good – Syrah is made from Swartland fruit, grown on the schist-dominant soils of Porseleinberg estate (90%) and Goldmine estate (10%) near Riebeek-Kasteel. Brooding savoury and earthy nose, with gravelly, smoky hints plus an uplift of perfumed red fruit. The palate is packed with spice and there's a savoury pepperiness alongside the fresh juicy fruit – blackberry, plum, black cherry and blueberry – with elegant, supple tannins and a touch of violet on the finish. Beautiful balance here; a finely poised tension throughout. Spontaneous fermentation, with 65% whole bunches; aged in 2,500-litre Austrian oak foudres and 600-litre demi-muids for up to 18 months.

Syrah from Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of viticulture on the African continent. Cool, limpid tones of iced black cherries, blackcurrant confit, violets and white pepper. Parcels are kept separate during fermentation and maturation, and blended just prior to bottling. An average of 35% whole-bunch magnifies the spice and vibrant red fruit energy on the palate, complemented by featherweight tannins. Intensely pure and buoyed by a saline acidity.

Sporting a moderately compact purplish colour, this is laced with essence of freshly picked bramble fruits and violets wrapped in a veil of laurel, nutmeg, animal musk and iron. Ripe red fruits flow on a bead of seamless tannins, while mineral and garrigue undertones increase the breadth of a supple and pure progression, culminating in a floral and subtly stemmy finish. Fermented in Tuscan terracotta amphorae, where it stayed for six months before racking into oak barrels.

Rather faint on the nose, and quite reductive for now, although new leather and ripe blackberry aromas come with air. Then it’s very punchy on the palate, with a big tannic impact and a mineral grind. This has real structure and energy. It’s drinkable and vibrant, with a saline finish. Seriously granitic, this has great energy and zest. The nose should open up in time to offer something lovely, so give it time. Best vintage yet from this domaine. Grown in Chavanay and St-Pierre-de-Boeuf, in northern St-Joseph. It has 30% whole bunch, and was aged in barriques.

A spirited Syrah that pairs the ripe, pure fruit of Hawke's Bay with Rhône-style spice and Mediterranean herbs. Bright and lively palate; generous raspberry and blackberry fruit is layered with savoury tones and a crack of black pepper, with good concentration and tannic grip – this will continue to age in bottle. Appetising aromas of plum, raspberry and blueberry mingled with oaky spice and charcuterie. Would be a great pairing for spicy wild boar sausages.

One of the classiest Syrah wines from Argentina, this is the boutique project of Emilia Armando and her husband Eduardo Soler. With the powerful backbone of the graphite tannins of Los Chacayes, and freshness of high-altitude Uco, this is a classy interpretation with pure black fruit, savoury minerality and black pepper notes.

With a robust Syrah program, Le Vieux Pin now proposes three limited production single vineyard bottlings along with their well-established hierarchical trio, which blends grapes from different sites. Despite sitting at the ‘entry-level,’ Cuvée Violette is a benchmark for BC Syrah. The 2022 vintage is a particularly fine-boned and sleek example. After shaking off initial reductive notes, it blossoms with pretty fragrances of red cherry, black pepper, violets and a whiff of coffee. There is a charming crunch to the youthful palate where tangy currants are folded into soft, gracious tannins.

From the sand and ironstone soils of Blewitt Springs in McLaren Vale, this is made with 50% whole bunches and wild yeast, spending 12 months in new and used French puncheons. Deep black-fruited aromas; plenty of perfume and panache, with floral and spicy nuances addding interest. Gorgeous depth of ripe, fresh blackcurrants and blackberries, with a little lift of fresh herbs and meadow flowers, then lingering spice. Polished tannins allow the fruit purity to shine. Supremely drinkable!

Charry blue and black fruits, smoky pepper notes, and tangy acidity. Fresh, lifted, and balanced with bright plummy fruit, and fine tannins, with a delicately crunchy finish.