Shiraz – A Versatile Wine In Australia
Shiraz, or Syrah as it is known in France where it originated from, is an immensely important grape variety in Australia. It is seen to be a workhorse one due to its consistent heavy cropping, but in recent years Shiraz has been used to blend with many different varieties to great effect. This has helped to give Shiraz the seal of quality it has today.
A single varietal Shiraz may be considered to be rather basic especially if grown in very hot areas. The grapes from higher yielding vines will then almost become over-ripe and taste slightly sweet and therefore lose a certain amount of concentration of fruit. This could be typical ‘hot country’ red wine that has had much of the flavor cooked out of it. But the Australians have extensive plantings of this noble grape and if anyone is going to exploit it, they will – and have!
The Hunter Valley is one area with its quality-conscious winemakers able to turn the huge amounts of Shiraz into some really serious wines. As this region has relatively poor soils, which incidentally is great for vines, combined with high temperatures, a very distinctive style of wine is produced. Shiraz is known as Hunter ‘Hermitage’ here.
If yields are kept to as little as half a tonne per acre and the weather has been right, i.e. not too hot, then the wine can develop an extraordinary unique style of its own. The wine will show a richness of an almost chocolaty character with a notable mineral tang. Shiraz is still very much the red wine grape of the area however Cabernet Sauvignon now accounts for a large proportion of the Hunter Valley vine acreage.
Perhaps the model for Australian Shiraz comes from The Barossa Valley in the form of the famous and much loved Penfolds ‘Grange’. Made entirely from local fruit, this is a wine of extraordinary dimension and power, while being richly textured and intensely concentrated it is packed with natural fruit sweetness.
Another promising style of Shiraz is being produced in the cooler south western part of the country around Coonawarra. The acid levels are kept well up producing appetizing wines with that wonderful dry peppery quality that we are so familiar with. These wines keep their color and age extremely well. It is here that the Australian wine industry showed the world what successful if unlikely partners Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon can be.
There are numerous premier Shiraz producers such as Penfolds, Hardys, Henschke, Orlando, Peter Lehmann Wines, Rosemount, Wolf Blass, Lindemans, Wynns and Yalumba as well as many other excellent wineries.
With a wide climate range throughout Australia and top class winemakers, it is no wonder that they have, and continue to discover how to work this magical old grape variety and extract so many different flavours from it.
That’s why Shiraz is such a versatile wine in Australia, and why it has withstood the test of time.
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