Syrah / Shiraz

Syrah / Shiraz

Shiraz and Syrah are the same grape. Australia calls it Shiraz, France calls it Syrah, and the two names have come to mean two styles: Shiraz ripe, sweet-fruited and powerful; Syrah darker and savoury — black pepper, cured olive, smoked meat, violets, and a streak of something almost bloody. Same vine. Different accent.

It is far and away our largest holding: 50 wines.

If you drink Shiraz, the French shelf you want is the Rhône

In the northern Rhône, Syrah stands entirely alone on terrifyingly steep granite. Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie, Crozes-Hermitage and Saint-Joseph are Syrah and nothing else — the purest form of the grape anywhere. In the southern Rhône it leads a blend instead: a Châteauneuf-du-Pape is Grenache-led with Syrah and Mourvèdre giving it colour, spine and pepper. Further south still, in the Languedoc and Roussillon, Syrah does the same job for a third of the money.

• Northern Rhône — pure Syrah: Hermitage La Chapelle (Paul Jaboulet Aîné) and Hermitage Les Bessards (Delas); Côte-Rôtie from Gerin and Jasmin; Crozes-Hermitage from Alain Graillot, Yann Chave and David Reynaud; Saint-Joseph from Guigal and André Perret.
• Southern Rhône — Syrah in the blend: Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Clos des Papes, Vieux Télégraphe, Château de Beaucastel, Domaine de la Janasse and Usseglio; Côtes du Rhône from Guigal.
• Languedoc & Roussillon — the grower ground: Faugères from Léon Barral, Pic Saint-Loup from Clos Marie, Terrasses du Larzac from Montcalmès, Domaine de La Marfée near Montpellier, Domaine Gauby at Calce.
• Provence: Château Simone in red (Palette), and Syrah in the blend of the pale dry rosés — Miraval, M de Minuty, Domaine Ott.

Coming from Australian Shiraz? Don’t start at Hermitage.

Start with a Crozes-Hermitage. Same grape, same hillside country, a fraction of the price, and Alain Graillot is the reference name there. Then a Saint-Joseph. Then, once black pepper has become a pleasure rather than a surprise, Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage — and you will understand what all the fuss is about.

Free delivery on 6 bottles or more, anywhere in Singapore. See also the Rhône Valley and Languedoc.