Syrah first appears in the historical record in 1781 outside the Rhone village of Tain-l’Hermitage,

Tablas Creek Vineyard

In honor of International Syrah Day, I’m sharing two terrific Syrah cellar selections.

History of Syrah

Syrah is one of the oldest established grape varietals in the Côtes du Rhône region of southern France, and the sixth-most-planted grape worldwide. It is tremendously flexible, and can make elegant and restrained wines as well as wines bursting with fruit and oak, in locations as diverse as France, California, South Africa, and Australia.

Despite various other legends about its origin, DNA research by Carole Meredith at U.C. Davis showed that Syrah is a native French grape, the offspring of two grapes (Dureza & Mondeuse Blanche) from southeastern France. Syrah first appears in the historical record in 1781 outside the Rhone village of Tain-l’Hermitage, where it is still planted today. The origin of Syrah’s name is unknown, though it does not appear to have anything to do with the Persian city of Shiraz or the Greek island of Syra. Instead, linguists suggest it comes from the Latin word serus, meaning late-ripening explains Tablas Creek Vineyard.

Syrah in California

Growers first planted Syrah acreage in California in the late 19th century, but phylloxera destroyed most of the early vines in the 1890s. Vines were replanted, but substantial acreage did not appear in California until the 1990s. 

Since then Syrah plantings have experienced meteoric growth. In 1992, there were 1,191 tons of Syrah crushed in California. Tons of Syrah crushed in California peaked in 2005 at 147,312 tons, and in 2021, there were 75,441 tons crushed in California,

2011 Carlisle Syrah Steiner Vineyard

Located at 1000’ elevation on the northwest face of Sonoma Mountain, weather at Steiner Vineyard is greatly influenced by the wind and fog pouring through Petaluma Gap. As a result, it’s a marginal climate, one that is ideal for producing wines of distinction. Composed of equal parts of clone 470 and Alban 1 selection, the wine was given a light egg white fining to polish the tannin but bottled unfiltered explains Carlisle. The Steiner Vineyard is located in the Sonoma Mountain AVA.

Tasting Note: Medium garnet color with pronounced aromas of black currant, smoke, blackberry, white pepper, olive tapenade, sandalwood, dried herb and violets. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and harmonious with bright, mouth-watering acidity and well integrated gauzy tannins. It shows black currant, black berry, boysenberry, Morello cherry, mocha and savory spice/herb flavors with a hint of orange rind. Long finish. 14.1% abv|92pts

About Carlisle Winery

Carlisle Winery & Vineyards is a small Sonoma County based winery  based in Santa Rosa. The specialize in the production of old-vine, vineyard designated Zinfandels and red Rhone varieties (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Petite Sirah). Click here for the story behind Carlisle.

2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah T ‘n’ S Blocks Hudson Vineyard South

Fruit sourced from the T and S blocks of the famed Hudson Ranch. Vinified with 40% whole-cluster and co-fermented with a smidge of Viognier, this is classic Hudson-savage, bacon-rind, peppery goodness explains Bedrock Wine Co. Hudson Ranch is located within the Napa side of the Carneros AVA in the southern part of the Napa Valley, just north of the San Pablo Bay. 

Tasting Note: Deep ruby color with lifted black fruit, green olive, eucalyptus, smoked meat, violet, and black pepper aromas. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied with and round with mouth-watering acidity and well integrated dusty tannins. It shows ripe blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry, black currant, graphite, mocha, and peppery spice flavors accented with a very appealing savory notes. Medium-Long finish. This wine is in a great place right now, but I feel like it could go another few years at least! 14.5% abv|92pts

About Bedrock Wine Company

Bedrock Wine Co. was founded in 2007 by Morgan Twain-Peterson, MW in a 550 square-foot, former chicken coop with 8 foot ceilings and no fermentation space. After six years of Bedrock being a one-man-show, Morgan was able to talk his best friend, Chris Cottrell, into moving to California from New York to join him.  With completion of construction of their new winemaking facility they now happily have a little more space to do their thing.

And what is their “thing”? They are dedicated to preserving, rehabilitating and making wines (mostly field blends) from old vineyards around California. Click here for their full story.

My Takeaways

If I had to pick (and fortunately I do not) one grape variety as my favorite – it would by Syrah. I love the grape’s versatility in terms of style, range of flavors, affinity for food, and its often “feral” character that manifest itself I would describe as savory and/or herbaceous. And, well made ones such as these too age gracefully too!

I tend to prefer cool and cooler climate Syrah The Carlisle and the Bedrock are from Sonoma and Napa respectively with can be very warm. But, the warm temperatures of the AVAs from which these two wines are sourced are moderated by cooling influences.

In the case of the Carlisle, it’s the combination of elevation, and the wind and fog pouring through Petaluma Gap that moderate the warm temperatures

In the case of the Bedrock, the Hudson Vineyards warm temperatures are moderated by cool fog and breezes from the San Francisco Bay.

The result is that both these wines hit a sweet spot for me. There’s ample fruit buoyed by vibrant acidity, and moderate tannins. And both these wines show some enchanting savory notes that make them a joy to drink on its own, or paired with the foods that pair well with Syrah.

Purchasing Syrah from either of these two producers is a good bet if cooler climate Syrah is your jam.

Sources and Resources

• https://tablascreek.com/story/vineyard_and_winemaking/grapes/syrah
• https://bedrockwineco.com/bedrock-heritage/our-vintages/#vintages-holder
• https://www.carlislewinery.com/drinkability-chart/2011/sonoma-mountain-steiner-vineyard-syrah
• https://wineinstitute.org/our-industry/statistics/wine-fact-sheets/syrah/#:~:text=Most%20of%20the%20state’s%20Syrah,to%20wines%20made%20with%20Syrah.