SHIRAZ or syrah? Whatever the preference, it is now seriously challenging cabernet sauvignon for the mantle of the greatest red varietal, in terms of quality and consumer appeal. Just one indicator is the Wine Spectator list of ‘The 100 Most Exciting Wines of the Year': since 2005 this list has been dominated by shiraz-based wines, particularly those from the New World.
My love affair with shiraz began in the early 1970s when I cut my oenological teeth on the big and gutsy wines of Barossa, Clare and McLaren Vale. Little did I realise that shiraz was in my blood in more ways than one. In the 1980s I discovered to my great surprise and pleasure - as a result of genealogical research - that my great-great-grandfather, Joachim Johann Zerk, had planted a block of shiraz on his farm near Lyndoch in 1887. Those vines are still there today, owned by my distant cousins the Haese family, are producing well, and are a prized source of fruit for Grant Burge's Meshach.
Back in the 1970s, only Australia and France had significant plantings of shiraz. In Australia, it was mainly used for port; its propensity to shrivel and develop high sugar concentrations makes it ideally suited to fortified wine production. However, its day as the mainstay of red table wine was yet to come, and it first had to survive the oversupply of the 1980s and the ill-advised Vine Pull Scheme of 1986 in South Australia. Thankfully, many of the valuable old vine plantings did survive - and today they provide the backbone of many of our iconic wines.
Since the early 1990s, more shiraz has been planted than any other variety and it now totals 41,000ha, or 24 per cent, of the total Australian vineyard area. Although the plantings are widely distributed, more than half are in South Australia, particularly in the Riverland, Barossa and McLaren Vale.
In France, until the 1970s, syrah was just a minor variety, limited to a few appellations in the northern Rhone - notably Hermitage and Cote Rotie. Over the next 30 years the area expanded greatly, particularly in the southern Rhone and Languedoc-Roussillon. Today, there may be as many as 50,000ha in France, the largest area of any country. Notwithstanding the great success of Australian shiraz internationally, many would still regard the wines of the northern Rhone as the benchmark. At their best, these are supple and intense wines of great balance and length. However, in this part of the world such wines can be produced only from vines grown on the very best sites.
Take the Hermitage appellation as an example. The imposing granite hill of Hermitage rises above a bend of the Rhone at Tain l'Hermitage, where the river turns left for just a few kilometres as it diverts from its southerly course to the Mediterranean. This has resulted in a steep, south-facing slope, which catches the sun, ensuring excellent thermal properties and good ripening potential. The appellation occupies just a few hundred hectares; however, for many centuries, the reputation of the wines from the syrah vines of this appellation has far outweighed the volume of wine produced.
The origins of shiraz have been much debated. One tradition suggests it was brought to Hermitage from the city of Shiraz in Iran; another that it came from Syracuse in Sicily. Unfortunately for the romantics, the truth is much more prosaic. Recent research, utilising DNA analysis, has revealed that its origin is actually the Rhone after all, and that it is a chance crossing of two rare and undistinguished varieties from that region, dureza and mondeuse blanche.
We should be grateful to James Busby because it was he who first brought shiraz cuttings (along with many other varieties) from France to Australia in 1832. Known as scyras at the time, it was planted in the Hunter Valley in the 1830s and the Barossa Valley in the 1840s. Although its spread to most other New World countries was not far behind, it took until the late 20th century for the rest of the world to take it seriously - and this was due largely to the great success of Australian shiraz in the export trade. Today, it is possible to find significant areas, and excellent wines, in the US (notably California and Washington State), South Africa, Chile and New Zealand. It has also now spread to other countries in Europe, such as Italy (Tuscany), Spain and Portugal.
Why has shiraz been so successful in Australia? In the vineyard, it is fairly easy to grow, yielding well under a range of climatic conditions, with relatively few problems. The bunches stand up to wet weather during ripening better than most varieties, which accounts for its popularity in the Hunter Valley. But probably the most important characteristic of the variety is its ability to produce good to great wine across the whole climatic spectrum; and it is better at this than any other red wine variety. There is a wine to suit every taste: from the generously flavoured, full-bodied styles of the Barossa, Clare and McLaren Vale to the elegant, perfumed, spicy and textured styles of southern Victoria. Furthermore, it blends well with so many other varieties; whether it is with cabernet sauvignon, grenache, mourvedre or viognier, they are all successful.
My love affair with shiraz is now well into its fourth decade. Whereas in those early days I preferred the big, bold styles, I now find myself equally drawn to the more elegant styles from cool climate vineyards.
* Peter Dry is Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide and a wine and viticulture expert.