Alessandro di Camporeale > Articles > Ampelography > Syrah, a legendary wine

(Grape of Syrah)

Syrah’s ampelographic features

Syrah is a red grape vine that has medium size leaves, medium size bunch with a cylindrical shape and small oval grapes with blue color skin. Syrah gives a red ruby color wine with violet shades, its scent is very strong and fruity with fragrances of spices, especially black pepper. The taste is very persistent, with a good structure but it’s quite fresh and tannic.

This grape-vine is cultivated in almost all the world wine-producing regions even if its best results come from the Rodano valley in France. In Italy Syrah is cultivated in Tuscany (with the best results in the Cortona D.O.C.), in Latium and in Sicily where it is often blended with Nero d’Avola obtaining wines suitable for international markets.

The aromatic composition of the Syrah

The aromatic composition of the Syrah is very rich and it feels the effects of the ambient and climate conditions. We have to distinguish the Syrah produced in Europe, especially in France, and the ones produced in the 'new world'. The Syrah produced in Europe is  generally characterized by the black pepper flavor, a quality that is attenuated in the 'new  world' wines in which the ripe fruits flavor predominates.

Another feature of the Syrah is represented by the aging in barrels. In wines produced with ripe Syrah, the smoked flavors are more evident than in wines  produced by not entirely ripe Syrah. When it is produced in cold climate areas or with not entirely ripe grapes, it is characterized by currant, cherry, violet, white pepper and often olive flavors.

Instead wines produced in warm climate areas or with completely ripe grapes are characterized by blackberry, black pepper, liquorice and often smoked flavors. The Syrah wine has important capacities of aging in bottle and organoleptic developments. In the years it can develop coffee, caramel and tar flavors..