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Northern Rhone Syrah Vines

Four Syrahs in seven days…. I tried for seven Syrahs, but new world Syrah (second only to Malbec) is one of my least favorite types of wine so I find four to be both an overwhelming number and an admirable effort. The thing about New World Syrah is that each one seems to be imitating an Old World blue print, but imitating it poorly and without replacing what’s lacking with anything new.

How did the personal challenge turn out? Well, I didn’t get any “I <3 Syrah” tattoos, and I didn’t throw any of the bottles out the window onto the street (as I expected to do) so I’d consider it a smashing success! Here’s the rundown:

Quinta de Viluco Reserva Especial Syrah from the Maipo Valley, Chile 2005: $20… Dark fruit, dark chocolate, and a enormous body. Really, truly fun to taste. Between three people trying it, we finished the bottle, and I bought two more to pour at dinner parties. It was obviously working at being a Crozes-Hermitage, but failing at having any complexity.

The Wolftrap Syrah from the Western Cape of South Africa 2009: $15… Wow, this is ripe! Fruity, fruity, and fruitier, BUT it’s also smoky. Mostly, it’s really burnt apricot pits… and what is this? It has some Viognier (and Mourvedre) in it!? Ah, that explains the smoke even more than the South African heritage.  The Cote-Rotie in the northern Rhone of France is mostly Syrah with often just a little bit of Viognier in it. The name translates roughly as “The Roasted Coast” and the Viognier adds a little hint of citrus so the burnt apricot pits coming through in the Wolftrap make perfect sense in this context. I can’t say the Wolftrap was a good bottle, but I liked it- probably just because of the Viognier’s ability to add some finesse and make the wine fun to taste.  Two people, some quite sarcastic conversation, and most of the bottle finished.

Coriole Vineyard’s Redstone Shiraz from the Mclaren Vale of Australia 2005: $20… This wine was supposed to be a Cornas… again, a Northern Cotes-du-Rhone version of Syrah that has a very jammy, red fruit and spice quality to it. Of course, it’s not a Cornas; it is a quick-finishing Australian.  I didn’t like it, but I think that was mostly because I’m prejudiced against Australia.  It was easy, red, and boring… it actually tasted a lot like the movie Avatar (yes, I know my roommate and I are the only two people in the world who didn’t like it).

Barrister’s Syrah from the Columbia Valley of Washington 2004: $25… Hermitage is the flagship Syrah of the Northern Rhone. It was loved by Russians Tzars. The complete AOC produces fewer bottles than many highly sought after American brands of wine. More importantly, Hermitage tastes like coffee, leather, and chocolate, and it finishes (when aged correctly, i.e., 10+ years… even 50 years if you’re doing it right) like velvet. The Barrister tastes exactly like a Hermitage, but finishes with the finesse of a cup of cold bodega decaf.

The better question is why do I keep doing this to myself?

Australia, Chile, France, New World, South Africa, Syrah, Wine Reviews | No Comments

Ok, yeah, I do know a bit about wine, but who really needs another person who knows quite a bit about a lot of wine areas… wouldn’t it be better if I were a person who knew quite a bit about a lot of wine areas AND  a ton about one, wonderfully underappreciate wine area?!

I’m just thinking outloud now, but these are the areas where I think there might be an opening for me to make an actual difference in helping people slow down and really enjoy wine:

• Alsace: wow, prima facie this might be the worst idea in the universe since almost everyone reading this (i.e., all of T.B. Ackerson’s regular customers) hates white wine that isn’t “zippy and crisp” and red that isn’t “big and creamy.” Alsace whites are often big, petrol-driven oil slicks in your glass, and their reds are tiny, tart marvels. They also have a ton of unmined, terroir-based idiosyncracies. Spicy, Oriental, and fatty Eastern European dishes go perfectly with the wines of Alsace, and wouldn’t you know it… Spicy, Oriental, and fatty Eastern European dishes are all the rage of New York City!
• New Zealand: One day people will understand that grapefruit-driven Sauvignon Blancs are this country’s least exciting wine zone! Pinot Noir that has the funk of Burgundy and the cinnamon of Oregon is what makes my palate dance in New Zealand. Heck, even their Riesling rivals the noble, just-mentioned Alsace. Wow, I could totally do that those wines with some oddly savory Asian fish!
  
• Non-sucky Syrah: Specialize in one of my least favorite grapes? Well, it’s only my least favorite when lazy winemakers turn out “fruit’ish” red wines that taste more like the paper used to print their labels than the actual land used to grow the grapes. When it’s done right it tastes like raw meat, burnt flowers, and ripe black fruits. That sounds like it might go wonderfully with Korean beef!
  

Alsace, New Zealand, Syrah | No Comments

and what wines they reminded me of!

- Burnt spinach on the top of San Remo’s pizza pie… smells like Cote Rotie, or the “Burning Slope” of Northern Rhone Syrah grapes.

- Freshly crushed tangerine seeds… smells like dry Frascati! Malvasia or Trebbiano grapes from just outside of Rome usually known as sweet dessert wine, but when “secco” (i.e., dry) is on the label it makes a challengingly bitter white wine.

- A kiss from a person drinking whiskey, smoking cigarettes, and eating cherries from the bar… tastes/smells like Castilla y Leon (northwestern Spain) wine using Tempranillo and a large helping of Calabres grapes fermented in old oak barrels. It’s been a long time (if you know me well, you should be questioning whether any of this anecdote is true!) since anyone at an even half-reputable bar has kissed me, but darned if my memory of it does’t taste just like a freshly popped bottle of Salamanca red!

Smells, Syrah, Tempranillo | No Comments

What is Cornas? A winemaking region in the northern Rhone that only uses Syrah grapes.

How small is the region of Cornas? Way too small to have room for more than more than one grape, i.e., 235 acres. Cornas is ~1/3 the size of Central Park.

What in the world are you, Cole, doing drinking Syrah!??! I know- I hate Syrah/Shiraz… I had enough cherry-flavored children’s dimetap during the 80s to keep me away from even trendiest $100 bottles of Barossa Valley Shiraz, but even I can’t resist a wine region that prides itself on producing undrinkable bottles of wine before age 10.

What does Cornas taste like? Theoretically, Cornas tastes like red and black fleshy fruits, but that’s assuming you age it correctly (10 years PLUS!). Most people will pop the bottle within 5 years of the vintage, and they will be treated to flavors of burnt black rocks, animal furs, coffee grounds, and fruit pits.

What should I pair Cornas with? Cornas is possibly the only thing that can stand up to heavy doses of Dijon, olives, and meat au poivre.

What’s the last Cornas  you had? Domaine Courbis Cornas Champelrose 2001. Black cherry pits sprinkled with coffee ground, racoon fur, wet bark, and sweet/green licorice. It also tastes a great deal like rotten garlic… i.e., the garlic you leave on top of your fridge long enough that it starts to resprout green shoots and you usually don’t eat it.. at least I don’t, but then sometimes, I do, and it tastes like this wine- bitter, savory, & sweet.

Syrah, Wine Reviews | No Comments

Maplethorpe Thornberry (a good friend and professor of literature at Trinity College in Cambridge) happens to be a big wine lover, and after a few emails we got him to conduct an interview about Chateauneuf-du-Pape with Nigel Dawson, another British wine lover and (former) member of The Who. Click here to watch it!

A few of our favorite Chateauneuf-du-Pape producers:

Chateau Mont-Thabor

Chateau Beaucastel

Clos du Mont-Olivet

France, Grenache/Garnacha/Cannonau, New World, Old World, Syrah, Wine Reviews, Wine Videos | No Comments