New World Syrah
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One of the great red grape varieties, Syrah – or Shiraz – has found huge success far from its Rhône homeland. Steven Spurrier gives his thoughts on New World Syrah beyond the Rhône, while our regional experts recommend the best wines to seek out...

Syrah stands next to Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir as one of the world’s three greatest red grape varieties. Filling out the top 10 for me would be Merlot, Nebbiolo, Grenache, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Carignan.

Like Cabernet Sauvignon, which hails from the Médoc, and Pinot Noir whose home is the Côte d’Or, Syrah’s foundations are in France – more specifically in the northern Rhône which, on the 45th parallel, offers a near-perfect northern climate for the vine, the granite-based soil allowing Syrah to produce wines of striking intensity of bouquet and flavour.

Syrah is both a distinctive and distinguished grape variety and its origin (or originality) should always enhance its natural fruits and tannins. While Pinot Noir is more fascinating and Cabernet Sauvignon more predictable, Syrah is more reliable in the best way: in its many guises it almost never lets you down, and New World Syrah has a natural weight which seldom tips into over-extraction as the ripeness is already there.

I was once asked to choose one single red variety, alone or dominant in blends, for the remainder of my drinking life. I remember opting for Sangiovese. After writing this and looking at the wines our seven regional experts have recommended over the following pages, I think I should have chosen Syrah…

See the top New World Syrahs chosen by our experts:

Keep checking back on Decanter.com for more New World Syrah recommendations …

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Steven Spurrier
Steven Spurrier
Decanter Magazine, Consultant Editor
Decanter’s consultant editor Steven Spurrier joined the wine trade in London in 1964 and later moved to Paris where he bought a wine shop in 1971, and then opened L’Academie du Vin, France’s first private wine school in 1973. Spurrier staged the historic 1976 blind tasting between wines from California and France, the Judgment of Paris, and in the 1980s he wrote several wine books and created the Christie’s Wine Course with then senior wine director Michael Broadbent, a veteran Decanter columnist. In 1988 Spurrier returned to the UK to focus on writing and consultancy, with his clients including Singapore Airlines. He has won several awards, including Le Personalité de l’Année (oenology) 1988 for services to French wine and the Maestro Award in honour of California wine legend André Tchelistcheff (2011) and is president of the Circle of Wine Writers as well as founding the Wine Society of India. He also produced his own wine, Bride Valley Brut, from his vines in Dorset.