Our panel: Coralie Gelot, Beverage Manager, The Windsor Hotel Group; Chris Ryan, Senior Wine Buyer, Trader House Group; Liinaa Berry, Sommelier Consultant; Gary Mills, owner/winemaker Jamsheed and Jamsheed Urban Winery; Rory Lane, owner/winemaker The Story Wines; Ben Mullin, owner/winemaker, Mulline; Lisa Cardelli DipWSET, freelance writer; Gabriella Rush, wine retail professional.
We gathered every Australian wine labelled syrah we could find and set our expert panel the task of finding the wines that compelled the most. All wines were tasted blind, and each panellist named their top six wines. Below are the wines that made the panellists’ top six from the tasting.
This took top spot for Mills and Berry, while Ryan and Cardelli had it in their top two wines “Punchy tangerine, red frog candy – immediate appeal. Fresh and inviting. Screams ‘drink me’,” commented Mills on the bouquet. “It has a rich mouth feel, good rounded mouth-filling texture, has lift and punch in the mid palate, dusty tannins and full length. Feels balanced and nuanced pretty but generous.” “I see this delicious wine as a great addition to a Sunday session with good friends, a platter of cured meats, some roasted quail or even a confit duck. Although pretty, it has enough structure to hold with some gaminess. It is a pleasure to drink, there is balance, and for an Aussie Shiraz, it is one I would happily show to my French counterparts in a blind tasting to discuss how far Australian Shiraz has come. This debunks the notion that Shiraz complexity comes from big extracted red wines. This wine shows progress in terroir expression combined with some thoughtful winemaking. There is juicy precision,” wrote Berry. “Distinctly medium bodied there’s an almost sense of refreshment to pomegranate, red licorice and spices. There’s engaging aromas of crushed rose petal and violets. There’s an effortlessness to the wine and, whatever you want to call it, I think this is a really enjoyable drink,” said Ryan. Lane also included this in his top-six: “Roses, violets, lavender, beautiful calm scents that show perhaps a little relaxing bottle age, or some extended barrel maturation. Still alive and very silky with musk and salami hints and ripe red currants, but the standout feature is the building, ripe, balanced tannins that make it a wine of real presence – technique and quality terrior are clear.”
This was Rush’s wine of the day, while Mils had it in his top two wines and Berry, Mullin and Vercoe also had it in their top six wines. “I really loved that this wine had something to say in all places,” said Rush. “It has heart, unctuous cherry fruit, slightly herbal and soothing (could be a combination of Werthers original or blackcurrant cough lozenge) and wild game notes that conjured a nostalgic pang to be sitting round Mum’s dining table with roast and all the sides.” “The bouquet has jubey sweet appeal (obvious carbonic sweetness), raspberry kirsch ripe peaches dried orange peel candy,” said Mills. “A rich but not cloying palate, with good bright acid to carry the opulence, and confectionary but not confected fruit. Has balanced tannins, very well made wine cheerful and expressive. Lovely spice finish and creamy texture.” “There is some seriousness in this wine, noted Berry. “From the start, the palate is vibrant. There is energy and a degree of whole-bunch coming through. This is a medium bodied wine lifted by whole bunch freshness echoing a red fruit profile of raspberries, cherries and boysenberries showing youth and good potential to age a few more years to round up these chalky tannins. There is some nori and mulberries coming through, a fragrant wine indeed. This is a wine to cellar and savour as it evolves. I like the winemaking behind it, I think the producer is trying to provide a lush shiraz balanced by some clever tweaks in the ratio of whole-bunch producing a more modern style, an understated full-bodied style.” “The bright red floral and fruit notes couple nicely with earthen tannin and twiggy amaro twang,” said Vercoe. “So much vibrancy of fruits. Fresh berries, florals and spices. So well integrated. So much fruit density and drive. Lovely use of stalk, which flows through to the palate to give some excellent gravelly tannin,” noted Mullen.
Lane, Mullen and Vercoe all had this as their number one wine from the tasting. “Pink musk, pepper, meat, lovely ripe cherry red fruits and balance, perhaps some Grenache-like spice as well,” commented Lane. “It has a slightly wild dark edge to the back palate that drives depth and complexity and pushes it to the next level, and fine savoury tannin that asks for food, and another sip.” Touching on flavour markers, Mullen noted: “Fresh blackberry, sweet licorice. Fresh ground peppercorn. Lovely fresh vibrant mid palate. Great weight, drive and complexity. Tannin gravelly and fine.” “A highly aromatic nose of blackberries, purple petals, dried savoury and white pepper with a hint of crushed black olive,” wrote Vercoe. “It moves like silk through the palate with a purity of black fruits countering a gentle spice and balanced bitterness. Boysenberry, blackberry, dried herb and amaro root notes are at the core of the wine which are offset with a gentle and earthen, brushy tannin, that in combination with the forest fruit acid line and gentle bitterness, give a refreshing, pure and elegant finish to the wine. A pure flowing, complex and refreshing style.” Berry also had this wine in her top six. “I would crack this at a party with canapés on a warm day. It’s enjoyable, and a crowd pleasing number for situations where people are standing up socialising. It will stop you in your tracks as it is definitely uber delicious and you’ll want to know where to buy it before going back to your conversation. A wine with a juicy core.”
This was Gelot’s wine of the day, while Mills, Rush and Vercoe also had it in their top six wines. “This wine jumped out for its savoury elements,” commented Gelot. “There’s some peppery notes. It’s light and elegant with great structure and a lovely vibrancy. Plum skin tartness, little herbaceous notes, dry citrus peel, and some lovely secondary elements which makes me think that the wine has already spent a bit of time in bottle. Lighter, more elegant style of Syrah. Probably hands off winemaking. Cleverly made and well put together. Very interesting and delicious.” “A gamey and sweaty black fruit bouquet, layered and ponderous, with sweet clove and cinnamon black plum, musk stick and raspberry candy,” noted Mills. “A thought provoking palate – sweeter than the bouquet would suggest, expansive texture, and a deep well of interesting flavours.” Rush found: “This wine is a great example of how savoury wines don’t have to be intimidating but genial,” added. “The moment you mention tar to a new wine explorer you certainly get a paled look of concern but if I start to explain the smell of the hot asphalt as you drive out of Melbourne, the leather car seats, windows down with the scent of dried eucalyptus spilling into the vehicle as you munch on a bag of liquorice allsorts, it sounds like the perfect afternoon well spent. That’s what this wine is, a very very good Sunday drive.” While Vercoe noted, “Red fruits and cola with a floral red petal prettiness. Juicy and open as it gently moves through the palate elegant and delicate flow. Very gentle clay-like tannin with a refreshing red liquorice and dried root and herb lick. Youthful and exuberant with a wild beauty of red currant and savoury leather and heather with a light bitter-brair edge.”
Berry and Gelot had this in their top two selections, while Rush also included this in her top six. “This is a lighter and pretty expression of Syrah,” said Berry. “Dried red fruits like dried cranberries gives a touch of concentration even within a lighter frame. After the sweetness fades, the palate unwinds into a savoury profile with finesse.” “Floral, fruity and bright,” noted Gelot. “Bramble, strawberries and raspberries that have that moreish sweet core followed by zingy acids and that dark plum skin tartness. There is a gentle warming spice that frames the wine especially as it opened.” Rush commented: “This was so exciting for all the foodie pairing joys I kept envisioning. My first visit to the glass made me think of a wok which… stay with me… was this lovely heated sweet soy, hoisin, clove spice dance amongst all the fruit. The palate was easy which in the context of drinking a lighter, ‘perfect to take to your mates for dinner’ style wine could happily hold up the meal, invite fascinating conversation and leave you wanting more. On the yum scale it is: doubly yum!”
This made Rush’s top-six list, while it was just pipped out of top spot for Gelot. “The type of wine that you want to go back and smell again and again,” found Gelot. “The nose is incredibly perfumed, filled with lovely bright citrus – I get pink grapefruit zest and lemon oil. Looking at the glass, the wine is lighter in appearance, see through, less extracted. Upon tasting the wine reveals lots of brightness and aromatics followed by firm tannins, great tension and structure. Garrigue, thyme, potpourris aromatics, dark cherries, black berries, and some black pepper. Dusty, terracotta like tannins frame the wine. Leaning towards a more savoury style that developed event further as it opened. Elegant and interesting. Would pair well with food.” Rush: “I felt invigorated by the amazing rhubarb that leapt at me, and it is my bias to crave this kind of crunchy, grippy, happy red because I love that it sparks delight as I swirl the glass. Don’t be fooled, it’s not all just juicy gleeful aromatics though. A smart savoury rosemary, thyme combo lingers and the tannins felt cleverly seasoned in the back to round out what was a joy to drink. May I take it to the park now?”
This made the top-six lists of both Mullen and Berry. “Red crimson fruits. Good weight and textural component. Great lick of oak. Quite chalky tannin, with drive and florals. Complexity in spades,” wrote Mullen. “I see some Crozes Hermitage here. Darker fruit, brooding with intensity on the nose that carries to the palate. There are stewed red fruits and ripe darker fruits with some good palate weight, there is density without clunkiness, the wine is fleshy but still lifted by some chalkiness. The chalkiness feels like black tea tannins. The fruits are vibrant, the wine is rich with good Syrah typicity. Some hint of spice like black pepper, juniper spice aromatics. Again lots of fruit power here underpinned by crisp acidity and fine but firm tannins. As the wine evolves after a few sips, there is a build-up of graphite mineral tang, some bay leaf and tapenade. Vitality and charisma.”
Mullen had this as his second top wine of the tasting. “Red currants, lifted peppercorn spice and lovely flow of fruits,” he noted. “The palate is fruit forward, with soft tannin but great tension. The tannin is a real lovely feature and drive of the wine. Excellent.” Lane also had this in his top-six: “Another great example of Syrah pepper, that bounds out of the glass – but the best examples, like this one, are underpinned by a chewy, ripe tannin structure that washes in and out of the (in this case, red and black) fruit flavours. Still mid-weight, it has plenty of power and presence and isn’t too slick. It has texture and reminds me of earth and rocks. Of place. Rugged beauty.”
This was Cardelli’s wine of the day. “There is a noticeable whole bunch of character reminiscent of rosemary and dried lavender,” she wrote. “However, here, the character is not overshadowing the fruit that is instead bright and lifted. It’s a vibrant medley of blueberries, blue plums, boysenberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, and violets. There is also a snese of pomegranate and oak playing along. Slowly building and soft-grained tannins and tonic acidity melt on the palate into a persistent and tasty length. All the elements are in balance, capturing the wine in its moment of utter drinkability. I like how moreish and persistent it is, how it shows concentration without being a powerhouse, and how the fruit is focused and pure.”
This was Ryan’s wine of the tasting, “Seductive aromatics with pretty florals of violets and lilac,” he said. “Palate follows with quiet exuberant fruit. Lots of blue fruit, boysenberry and blueberry, complemented by pomegranate and just ripe plum. That prettiness of aromatics lure you in but there’s an effortless flow on the palate with ripe concentrated fruit, supporting interest of spices like fennel seed and cardamom. Lots of detail if you go looking but you don’t have to… just a very enjoyable drink.”
Rush had this as her second top wine of the tasting, “If I could profile myself as a wine, I’d like to be this one,” she said. “All the initial sentiment on the palate felt bright; fresh red currants, I imagined picking and testing the ripeness of wild raspberries straight from the bush (some more tart than others), or splitting a pomegranate open and bursting the seeds between my teeth. Picture that energy also embraced in the most elegant bouquet of roses. I felt like I was in a rose garden, from the soft soil to the sappy leaves. It was supple, had a moreish sweet spice, and glistened with the most seductive colour.”
“Hello!” Lane exclaimed, placing this in his top two wines of the tasting. “The classic syrah black pepper leaps from the glass. Ripe black pepper, juniper, paired with a pitch-perfect mid-palate of red berries and a suave, glossy slick mouthfeel. Stylistically, this wine is a great all-rounder – it has all the perfume that lovers of young, fresh styles could ever ask for, but it has the depth and ripeness to please lovers of the more traditional Aussie Shiraz.”
Vercoe had this as his second top wine of the tasting. “Punchy blackberry and blackcurrant aromatics are countered by a herbal edge of dried black olive, thyme and the freshness of crushed white pepper,” he wrote. “The palate is nicely poised with a gentle savoury hung meat/game quality that counteracts the plushness of fruit in the mid palate, while gentle floral aspect of violets and lavender offers a delicate complexity. The wine finishes with the memory of the fruit, herb, flower, earth combination and a refreshing powder-like tannin profile in conjunction with a pomegranate fresh acidity.”
This made the top-six lists of both Lane and Mills. “Youthful and high-toned, evidently whole bunch influenced which gives freshness and levity,” commented Lane. “The fruit flavours aren’t overly complex at this stage but that should come with age – for now the finesse combined with woody herbs, lavender and thyme, and the musky, silky ‘mouth perfume’ make it one to enjoy hedonistically now.” “A bouquet of red berries, lemon balm, fresh lemon leaf, and appealing in a lighter style,” noted Mills. “The palate has a great mouthcoating, sweet fruit and rounded supple tannins. It’s lithe and perfumed, with a high tone velvet texture, and plum skin and damask plum characters. It’s easy going but built on a good foundation. Very appealing. A refreshing example of very modern winemaking. Probably light to medium bodied, but sits so well on the palate. It’s the kind of Syrah that would accompany large slabs of meat as it would slice through the fat with its racy acid.”
Both Ryan and Vercoe had this in their top-six selections. “This is textbook Syrah that stays in a bluefruit spectrum, taming a riper fruit profile with a deft touch of whole bunch,” said Ryan. “The whole bunch elements bring real interest to aromas and palate of sandalwood and cardamon making this is an engaging wine to smell. And a wine that evolves in the glass. There’s a complexing bloody (in a good way!), ferrous quality to the wine that hints at a vineyard first approach. That almost wildness is what’s so engaging and almost primal about Syrah – drink with anything that’s charred.” “Green peppercorn and amaro notes pair with red fruits and field flowers on the nose,” wrote Vercoe. “The palate flows and eases with red and black fruits, clove, black olive and brown baking spices. The earthen and crunchy tannin frames and refreshes that mid-weighted palate. There is a spice edge of mace and thyme with a light bitterness and the wine finishes with a gentle warming and fresh blackberry acidity.”
“I’ve selected this wine as it is a rounder and softer style, and it will always have its appeal for that,” wrote Cardelli, placing this in her top three. “The fruit is voluptuous and complemented by sweet spices from oak, namely vanilla pods and coconut husk. Dried herbs from the whole bunch integrate well with a generous basket of mixed açai berries, boysenberries, blueberries, blue plums, and a note of rhubarb. The palate is silky, and the tannins are granular and fleshy, like biting in 70% dark chocolate. Great length.”
Ryan had this in his top three wines “Beautiful aromatics of violets , layered ripe black and blue fruits,” he said. “This sits at the riper end of the Syrah spectrum and doesn’t shy away from concentrated fruit, supportive oak and a kind of crushed rock, graphite tannins. But the wine carries this concentration with a finesse and ease. This is gateway Syrah for the Shiraz drinker and also is akin to modern Australian Grenache. This has broad appeal and would be well received at any BBQ or diner party alongside roasted meats.”
“Really intriguing aromatics of dried black olive, coffee grinds, squashed strawberries, dried herb and graphite,” Vercoe noted, included this in his top three selections. “The wine has a flow on the palate and the firm grip of a lightly bitter tannin which couples nicely with the cola and briar notes in the wine, offsetting the dark plum fruit and blackberry acid line. Highly aromatic in style, there are a lot of briny, meaty, bitter, herbal characters here that you would find in a tapenade. It finishes with the memory of a crushed black olive and amaro twang.”
Mills had this just outside his top three wines of the tasting. “A warm red brick in the sun lustre, spiced plum, cedar, oak, biscotti,” he wrote. “The palate tightly wound, racy and good whole bunch tannin showing cured meats, bresaola, beef stock but has a lightness to the finish. Good drinking and complex. Medium bodied, would pair well with a marinated BBQ steak. Possibly go well out of an ice bucket in summer as well. All the components sit just right – well balanced!”
Ryan and Mills both had this wine in their top-six picks. “A big dark, sombre, black licorice, plum cake spice and black pastille bouquet,” wrote Mills. “The bigger palate is outside of my drinking style but drew me in, again and again. Rich but not cloying subtle oak handling. Will have obvious commercial appeal and will be long lived. Finish is lighter and fresher than led to believe.” “Dense, deep, dark core of fruit,” noted Ryan. “This hints at classic Shiraz with inherent power but brings a lightness with seductive aromas of violets and lavender. The palate’s concentration is lightened by an impression of crushed rocks. The wine balances that riper fruit profile well with a real flow on the palate and that aromatic interest and lightness of florals with well-judged oak. Another gateway Syrah for Shiraz drinkers.”
Cardelli had this just outside her top three wines of the tasting. “This style of syrah is aromatic and pretty. Lifted aromas of raspberries and pomegranates intermingle with blueberries and blue plums, vanilla pods, and cedar. The palate is all about brightness, juiciness, and soft tannins. It has drinkability for those seeking a moreish medium-bodied syrah for that mid-weeknight.”
Gelot placed this towards the middle of her top-six selections. “A bit more whole bunch showing for this wine which provides lots of freshness,” she wrote. “It’s lifted, and vibrant. Everything seems to be in harmony. Black berries, blueberries and mulberries bring poise and concentration. On the other hand, the use of whole bunch brings savouriness, lift and freshness. Well made.”
This made the top-six lists of both Cardelli and Berry. “At first glance, this wine smells of sandalwood, cedar, cinnamon, and sweet tobacco,” wrote Cardelli. “Then, lush blackberries, black plums, blueberries, boysenberries. The soft-grained tannins, refreshing acidity, and alcohol work in sync.” “This was a classic medium bodied red wine that has everything working for it in a classic way,” wrote Berry. “No surprises here, it is a ‘comfort zone’ Syrah with lots of familiarity and good for drinkers looking for that particular style. The wine respects the syllabus. There is seamless texture, good concentration of darker red fruits, balanced by some sour cherries and chalkiness. There are some purple florals and warm spices. Good length! This is the midweek wine I would like when I am cooking Italian pasta with meatballs, or braised beef.”
Mullen placed this towards the middle of his top-six selections. “Raspberry fruits, red florals and freshness key,” he wrote. “Excellent mid palate weight, nice and textural and good complexity. Great length, acid tension and drive.” Cardelli also had this in her top-six wines: “This is an inviting and irresistible syrah, like a warmly baked blueberry pie. A sweet array of blackberries, açai berries, and black plums follows—lovely, soft-grained tannins. Despite the concentration in the mid-palate, the fruit is well-defined and not lost in translation into the generous alcohol stream. The refreshing acidity helps to balance the power and to carry the fruit profile well past the end.”
Gelot placed this towards the middle of her top-six selections. “Vibrant. Second last wine of the tasting, and this wine really was a great example of how perfumed and layered Syrah can be,” she wrote. “Aromatic, vibrant, delicate yet with great acids and structure. Bright ripe berries, violet, black plums with sweet flesh and tart skin. There is also an element of savouriness and spiciness too… it’s Syrah after all! It’s all balanced and in harmony. Yum!”
Lane had this amongst his six favourite wines of the tasting. “A slightly leftfield example here, that took some time to emerge from the glass. A lighter, more delicate but in no way simple syrah, that caught my eye for the intriguing gunsmoke/flinty/positive sulphide character, which is a hard thing to get right! With air, wholebunch nutmeg and ginger spices, pink peppercorn and pink berry fruits appear, and they are backed up by some very fine but persistent savoury tannins that balance the crisp acidity really well. the net effect gets the saliva flowing and draws you in for another sip. A precise and multi-layered wine that shows a very deft hand.”
“Vibrant and lifted fresh red berries and purple flowers,” wrote Mullen, giving this a top-six result. “Medium bodied on the palate it had flow of tannin from fruit and oak with the fruits flowing to great drive and tension of acidity. Had some real savoury elements to the wine also, fresh crushed leaves and autumnal vibes to it showing from the whole bunch. Good weight, texture and length. Such a well balanced rendition of style of syrah. Lovely.”
This featured in Ryan’s top-six selections. “Bright purple hue, expressive aromas of violets, blue fruits,” he wrote. “The palate is layered and quite long, there’s good detail and supportive tannins which would ensure the wine would continue to improve for 5-10 years comfortably in the cellar. A wine that shows Syrah can be pretty and powerful at same time.”
“This was the tight tannin I was expecting for the category and I think a great bookend” wrote Rush, placing this in her top six. “It had vigour with its minerally iodine taste as if I’d just bit my cheek, but upon revisiting it had opened up to the softer, sweet cinnamon spices and nutty walnut edge. Your tongue tingles with how much it had to give and I just want to see how much more it has to give with time.”
Gelot had this placed in his top six wines for the day. “Power and concentration. Definitely a bigger expression with lots of dark and ripe mulberry and blackberry but also some great acids and tension which keeps the wine interesting. Gentle spice and maybe a touch of oak that is lovely integrated. After being opened for a while the nose shows riper fruit and some confectionery elements. It kind of remind me of sour lollies. The palate is also showing plenty of concentration but has a more savoury backbone of black Licorice, black olive and soft spices. A very moreish wine that shows a rounder, fruitier side of Syrah.”
In the 1990s, American wine critic Robert Parker doled out a slew of top scores to Australian shirazes for his Wine Advocate, famously anointing Chris Ringland’s ‘Three Rivers’ (now called ‘Chris Ringland’) with 99-point scores in 1993 and ’95, then upping the ante to a perfect three figures in ’96, ’98, 2002 and ’04. Unsurprisingly, that resulted in a feeding frenzy, with the value of the wines skyrocketing from somewhere around $60–70 on release to fetching over $1,000 on the US auction market. That saw Ringland hike his sell price by an astonishing 1,000 per cent, but the consumer interest was undimmed.
Unsurprisingly, other makers – many with vines as old and quite a bit older than Ringland’s Eden Valley centurions – wanted a piece of the action. And that meant making wine in a way that mirrored those reviews. To put that in context, it’s worth looking at some of Parker’s descriptors, writing that the 1996 was “akin to a dry vintage port” and a wine of “unreal concentration”. That overlay was just as evident in his assessment of another pillar of that Parker frenzy, Wild Duck Creek’s 1997 ‘Duck Muck’ Shiraz from Heathcote.
That wine had a similarly stratospheric uptick in value after its 99-point review, with Parker’s note praising its monumental nature: “Opaque black purple-colored, with a viscosity resembling vintage port… The acidity and tannin appear to be missing because of the wine’s wealth of fruit, glycerin, and extract.” For those interested in more elegant styles, Parker’s reviews were more cautionary tales, warnings writ large, but for most they represented the zeitgeist – bigger was indeed better.
This period was also one of unapparelled growth, with Australian land under vine in the 1990s more than doubling. It would be overstating things to say that Parker was the sole golden-egg-laying goose, but his impact was profound. Australian shiraz was seen as being darkly powerful, with wines often well over 15 per cent alcohol, and typically laden with sweet American oak, loaded with vanilla and coconut characters. And the style found a receptive audience, both domestically and internationally.
But to define Australian Shiraz by the Barossa and McLaren Vale of the time leaves so many prime growing regions unaccounted for, and it also blurs history. The reality is that earlier Australian red styles – shiraz and otherwise – were significantly lower in alcohol, with the wines elegant even in those warmer regions.s. Then there’s the Hunter Valley, which has long produced elegant but savoury midweight styles. What was starting to be seen as a traditional style favouring brute force was indeed not traditional at all. There was also a growth in cool climate viticulture around the same time, with many Victorian regions forging different expressions of the grape – joining long-term exponents like Best’s Great Western – as well as the ascent of areas like the Canberra District.
“The cool area styles of shiraz are so different to traditional Barossa and McLaren Vale ones that we thought it was confusing for consumers to call it shiraz,” says Webber. “That is to buy something called Yarra or Canberra shiraz and have consumers saying, ‘That’s not what I was expecting.’”
The cooler regions, though not suited to bigger styles, were not completely immune from the effects of Parker, with many makers aiming for higher ripeness and using significant amounts of new oak. They rarely achieved the levels of opulence that was achieved in South Australia or indeed in Victoria’s Heathcote, but the grapes were often taken to the extremes that their sites would allow. It had become a consumer expectation, and a commercially dangerous one to defy.
Jamsheed’s Gary Mills spent several years in the US, first working with Paul Draper at Ridge Vineyards, then further north in the cool of Oregon before returning home in 2003. “One of the things I noticed when I first arrived back in Victoria,” he says, “it was when Barossa was king, attracting the high prices, people here were pushing the vineyards, and pushing the styles until they were at breaking point… and the wines just weren’t that interesting, and they’d fall apart after a couple of years. They pushed the ripeness because they wanted to be Barossa-esque.”
“There is also a huge wank factor in calling it syrah. It’s a pretty toff sounding word, and I don’t want to be thought of as a wine wanker… though, I definitely am,” he laughs. “But shiraz in Australia is a brand, and it’s such a strong brand, and for the average punter, when they want a shiraz, they know what they want.”
For De Bortoli’s Steve Webber, that perception of what Australian shiraz was supposed to be was never going to be an easy fit for the styles he wanted to make from the cool of the Yarra Valley, choosing instead to label De Bortoli’s ‘A8 Reserve’ as syrah in 2003. It wasn’t the first time syrah had appeared on an Australian label, with perhaps Rosemount’s ‘Balmoral’ the most famous example, but Webber was making a strong statement about style.
“The cool area styles of shiraz are so different to traditional Barossa and McLaren Vale ones that we thought it was confusing for consumers to call it shiraz,” says Webber. “That is to buy something called Yarra or Canberra shiraz and have consumers saying, ‘That’s not what I was expecting.’”
Mills started using the term syrah from 2004. It’s also the year he committed to fermenting largely with whole bunches. “Having no formal degree in winemaking,” he says, “I only ever tried to imitate the wines I liked to drink – those wines all contained whole bunches as part of the process. But I was also part of a push to get the acknowledgement of a different style of wine out there. We were all making a point, that these were not heavyweight, over-extracted over-alcoholised wines… they were perfumed, medium-weight wines.”
That use of whole bunches in the ferments has become a major marker of wines labelled syrah, with the process adding layers of spice, expressing the fruit in a very vibrant way and adding complexity to the tannin structure. Webber stresses, though, that you can’t approach the use of whole bunches as a recipe. “I think we have come a long way with the use of whole bunches,” he says. “Some years they integrate really well, others not so much.”
Webber also notes that more can be less. “We tend to find 100 per cent whole bunch gives less whole-bunch character than a ferment with 20 per cent,” he says, “and there’s nothing wrong with the odd 100 per cent de-stemmed fruit and minimal plunging, particularly in the early stages of fermentation, for gently aromatic pinot-like characteristics.”
“It’s not just about throwing heaps of bunches at it to make a syrah style,” says The Story’s Rory Lane, “but for the general pendulum swing of syrah from shiraz, I’m perfectly fine for it to be swinging to bunchier styles, rather than those overripe styles. Wines that are quite leafy and green can work, but it needs to be matched with some decent, ripe skin tannin as well, with decent fruit ripeness.”
That ripeness is a thing that Webber stresses is important in his site. “We find that cool area shiraz needs to be reasonably ripe to give the weight and violets that we like,” he says. Webber also favours shorter time in neutral French oak, and uses larger format barrels. “We particularly like 500-litre and 600-litre barrels, and 2,300-litre foudre,” he says, noting that increased size and reduced duration retains freshness and fragrance and are better suited to the weight of the wines.
Weight and perfume were just as much key for Mills now as when he started out. For him, those bigger styles were not only not his style, but he believed they were obscuring expression of site and fruit. “At that time, particularly in the Yarra, shiraz was commonly made in an over-extracted, over-oaked style, which neither reflected the terroir nor came even close to being varietally correct,” he says.
That early move by both Webber and Mills to label their wines as syrah rather than shiraz was a risky one commercially, perhaps just as much as the styles they were making. It’s a decision that Webber says he still has robust discussions with his marketing team about. Not for the flagship syrah wines, but at the more everyday end of the spectrum where perhaps there is less familiarity with the term. But Webber is adamant that the “more aromatic styles” still need to be corralled from the expectations of what Australian shiraz is supposed to taste like.
“At the time,” says Mills, “I wasn’t giving much thought to whether it was a smart commercial decision or not. I was adamant, foolhardy even, that my wines were going to be represented as Syrah. I’m sure they would have sold faster if they were labelled shiraz, but I guess it is a moot point as I would never have done that anyway. The reception was mixed, as was to be expected. The sommelier ‘gatekeepers’ responded to it very positively, appreciating and recognising what we were trying to do.”
Today, that choice is perhaps a clearer one, with a distinct, though very broad syrah category that complements rather than challenges the bigger styles. “We need to distance our styles from those wines that our dads drank,” says Louis Schofield of Worlds Apart Wines in the Adelaide Hills. “I would have probably been making wines like that then as well, because that’s what people wanted, and that’s what sold. Most of those ‘dad wines’ are made from incredible fruit from a great region, and they can be great wines. The only problem I have is the great myth that high alcohol and high levels of new oak are going to make a wine age really well. And we now know the opposite is true.”
Webber also notes that more can be less. “We tend to find 100 per cent whole bunch gives less whole-bunch character than a ferment with 20 per cent.”
Schofield says that he was in two minds about calling his Eden Valley wine syrah or shiraz. “There is also a huge wank factor in calling it syrah. It’s a pretty toff sounding word, and I don’t want to be thought of as a wine wanker… though, I definitely am,” he laughs. “But shiraz in Australia is a brand, and it’s such a strong brand, and for the average punter, when they want a shiraz, they know what they want.”
Making wine under his The Story label since 2004, for Lane the shift to using the syrah nomenclature was a recent one, even if his wines have always stylistic fit for the category. “We started using the term syrah in 2017, quite late really,” he says. “I was reflecting on the fact that the majority of the world uses the term syrah, and I wanted our wines to be understood in a global context rather than just a national one.”
Mills agrees that export markets “were, and probably still are, the most receptive to syrah – not surprisingly”. But he’s also buoyed by the emergence of a genuinely deep exploration of the finer side of the grape, giving the local category meaningful definition. “What is happening now is that people are celebrating the perfume, the lightness,” he says, “and that’s really quite a wonderful thing to see. There’s a real deftness of touch that’s come about now with wines they call syrah. I think the term is even more relevant now, particularly given how awareness of the style has increased.
Our panel: Coralie Gelot, Beverage Manager, The Windsor Hotel Group; Chris Ryan, Senior Wine Buyer, Trader House Group; Liinaa Berry, Sommelier Consultant; Gary Mills, owner/winemaker Jamsheed and Jamsheed Urban Winery; Rory Lane, owner/winemaker The Story Wines; Ben Mullin, owner/winemaker, Mulline; Lisa Cardelli DipWSET, freelance writer; Gabriella Rush, wine retail professional.
“The diversity of styles shows why it’s an exciting category, but it also shows how different it can be, from really light pretty elegant styles to ones that kind of look like ‘Shiraz’: like riper, sweeter-fruited,” said Chris Ryan, opening the panel discussion. “I think what’s positive about it is you see different regions so there’s different regional expressions, they’re quite distinct, so the best ones had a prettiness and were distinctly ‘Syrah’… If you’re gonna label it ‘Syrah’, then you need to sort of go into that space.”
“I think it’s very confused for consumers,” commented Gabriella Rush. “Because we’re kind of been in like a discovery phase of Syrah for the past five to ten years, you can put a bottle in front of somebody and they wouldn’t really understand why we would use these words of ‘lighter’ and ‘fresher’ and ‘whole bunch’ and ‘earlier picked’ to denote style. But I’m super excited by what we just tasted because I saw so many gateway opportunities for the customer… We’re seeing so many Pinot drinkers and alternative varietals… They’re excited for foodie wines like Sangioveses, Grenaches, even Neros and things that have a little bit more bite to them… There was so much lovely lovely structure and balance and freshness in the Syrahs today to entice foodie people, which I’m feeling like, ‘Yeah, there’s so much Shiraz in this country, but it’s the backbone and it’ll come back’, and I’m like, ‘this is such a campaign to kind of show how exciting it can be.’”
“I’m super excited by what we just tasted because I saw so many gateway opportunities for the customer.”
“I thought there was the finesse there that I’m like, ‘You know what, I need to go back around and start taking it to people’s houses and dinner parties and things like that just to kind of really showcase that, maybe everything old is new again.”
Thinking further about this status quo of the market and the wines in the blind lineup today, Rush continued, “I thought there was the finesse there that I’m like, ‘You know what, I need to go back around and start taking it to people’s houses and dinner parties and things like that just to kind of really showcase that, maybe everything old is new again.”
“Yeah, I was thinking that too. Whatever you want to call it, a lot of those ones like midweek wines,” enthused Ryan.
“Yeah,” exclaimed Rush, “Mid-Week Wines!”
“Whatever you call that. They’re just good drinks,” continued Ryan. “It’s a shame there is so much baggage, but it’s a great drink.”
Coralie Gelot offered the nuances she particularly liked in the wines today: “The differences between between regions and the diversity of styles. Some were definitely a bit more whole-bunchy and you could really see where the wine was going. Some were really fruity and kind of beautifully inviting in that kind of prettiness. It fascinating to taste so many wines side by side and see the differences in the winemaking side of it.”
“I think there’s probably a tighter pattern of technique now from the same tasting five years ago... I think producers are narrowing in on what ‘Syrah’ means for them and there’s certainly a lot better and more consistent use of ‘whole bunches’ across a lot of the wines compared to five years ago, I’d say.”
Rory Lane was on our original Syrah Deep Dive panel in 2021. Commenting on his recollections of the 2021 blind tasting compared to today’s lineup of wine, he said, “I think there’s probably a tighter pattern of technique now from the same tasting five years ago. While there’s still stylistic differences between a lot of the wines, in the ones we saw today, there’s certainly a cluster that are focusing on perfume, that are focusing on brightness and delicacy, and I found there were fewer stylistic outliers. I think producers are narrowing in on what ‘Syrah’ means for them and there’s certainly a lot better and more consistent use of ‘whole bunches’ across a lot of the wines compared to five years ago, I’d say.”
“It’s definitely tapered off,” said Gary Mills. “The amount of I used to use in the early days has reduced a bit, and it’s mainly through tannin management: like, the higher the whole bunch you use, you do get some pretty raspy big-time tannins that are hard to control. But looking at the wines across the board here, I found like the most boring wines for me, the ones that didn’t really excite me, or ‘cookie cutter’ wines – which is kind of when you see process over site. It’s when makers go like, ‘I’ve got some shiraz, I’ll do 80% whole bunch for two weeks, no maturation, and then press it out.’ You’re just like, well, that looks like that, like that, like that… I see a lot in Pinot too at the moment – you know, it’s like it’s just ‘cookie cutter’ wines: they all look like the same process. The really exciting wines you could see that they had the bunches in them but they’re we’ll utilised and they had a great balance between all facets of the winemaking.”
Then, pointing to the wines in today’s blind lineup, Mills said, “Almost every wine had some touch of a whole bunch in there. There was maybe one or two that were proper Shiraz style wines, but the use of whole bunch is quite prolific now in Syrah. Whether you call it Shiraz or Syrah, or not. Does using whole bunch necessarily mean it’s a Syrah? I don’t think so. I think there’s a lot more to it. The perfume.. that to me is what makes… the spice and the perfume, and the levity… that’s what makes a Syrah.”
Lisa Cardelli noted how the use of whole bunch was one of the successful themes from the wines today. “Sometimes when it’s just whole bunch, you can’t see the fruit,” she said. “The more successful wines today had that whole bunch character, but also a well defined shiny fruit, sometimes almost a pomegranate character, and then I could see the tannins, the acidity, the fruit, the length, it was balanced along with the sweet spice of whole bunch – all integrated into the mix together.”
Mills wanted to get something off his chest: “My least favourite wines – and this is a bit of my bugbear of mine, in the wine industry, at the moment – is people bottling too early. With my least favourite wines, I’m just like, ‘let it sit there’…”
“…Primary… too primary,” the panel chorused.
“Yeah, too primary. It has no stuffing, it has no texture. It’s like they’re just whacking it to bottle, making the juice, you know… They were my least favourite wines. You’re just like, ‘there’s nothing to it.’ They’re just juice. That’s my biggest issue at the moment.”
“You need intensity and balance, and length,” concurred James Vercoe.
“And you build that with a small amount of oxygen in a barrel or a tank or whatever, or however you’re gonna do it,” continued Mills. “Not just stick it in bottle after four months and get on the market.”
“My least favourite wines – and this is a bit of my bugbear of mine, in the wine industry, at the moment – is people bottling too early. With my least favourite wines, I’m just like, ‘let it sit there’…”
But Ben Mullen noted how, in a number of the wines at today’s tasting, you could see where the makers take the time to allow the terroir to reveal itself in the wines. “I saw ‘lees work’ to build complexity in some of these kind of more medium body structural things – which you know, some of them were kind of creeping a bit too far, and then some worked really well with tannin and acid balance and then looking at kind of that gravelly kind of token that you can get from some of those kind of more medium-bodied Victorian wines. They just had that nice kind of gravelly tannin to them. That’s what I like to see in ‘Syrah’ – to show site. Those gravel notes are part of the site, and the soil is such an important part. So you know, talking about a whole bunch, and using it, shouldn’t be the main focus of what that wine is about. It (whole bunch) should be helpful with tannin and kind of balancing out power and giving drive to the wine and keeping that tension there.”
The panel asked James Vercoe about how shiraz/syrah sales are going in retail land. “Shiraz has actually bounced back a little bit. It never dropped off in terms of being the biggest – it was sort of flat for a few years over COVID, while Pinot took off and Cabernet slowly declined. It’s so sort of been in a few percent growth in terms of Shiraz.”
“I think most of our customers across the three banners – Vintage Cellars, First Choice, Liquorland – wouldn’t necessarily specifically shop for Syrah, even in Vintage Cellars as an example. But we’re probably at the point with Syrah and Shiraz where maybe we were 10 to 15 years ago with Pinot Grigio, you know: it’s a ‘split bay’; it’s the same varietal; it’s two different styles. Yes, there’s still two that crossover: you can get Pinot Gris that tastes like Pinot Grigio; you can get Pinot Grigio that tastes like Pinot Gris. I think where Syrah can play a point of difference for customers in retail would be in that combined space where you can have a full body Shiraz and medium body Shiraz, as you can a medium to light bodied Syrah. So it plays that option for the customer that it’s cheaper than Pinot Noir – because Pinot Noir is expensive AF – if you want a good one. Whereas Shiraz, there’s so much of it – so much of it for the customers, who are familiar with it.”
“We’re probably at the point with Syrah and Shiraz where maybe we were 10 to 15 years ago with Pinot Grigio, you know: it’s a ‘split bay’; it’s the same varietal; it’s two different styles. Yes, there’s still two that crossover: you can get Pinot Gris that tastes like Pinot Grigio; you can get Pinot Grigio that tastes like Pinot Gris. I think where Syrah can play a point of difference for customers in retail would be in that combined space where you can have a full body Shiraz and medium body Shiraz, as you can a medium to light bodied Syrah. So it plays that option for the customer that it’s cheaper than Pinot Noir – because Pinot Noir is expensive AF – if you want a good one.”
The panel asked Vercoe is the ‘bays’ or shelves within shops are labelled as Syrah, and he clarified that wines labelled as Syrah appeared on a shelf or bay named ‘Shiraz’. Which you would expect, given the wines labelled as ‘Syrah’ are really a drop in the ocean of Shiraz in Australia. “While a wine bottle may say ‘Syrah’, the fact that it’s in a Shiraz Bay, the customer knows they’re buying a Shiraz.”
Turning to thoughts of the Australian wine industry, Vercoe said, “I think it’s a long-term education piece if we want to hang our hat [on Syrah], and go after Australian Syrah as a style – which is very different from French Syrah, as we established earlier – then there’s a long-term plan and a slow play to educating the masses around it. While we want to be careful of things that come in and out of vogue, I think: that’s how people can sort of rip up high quality shiraz vineyards and put in something for the next fad… then all of a sudden you’re back at grenache.” He said, in reference to the South Australian government funded vine pull scheme of the 1980s that saw unique old shiraz and grenache vineyards ripped up.
The panel emphatically agreed.
“…So it’s more of a long-term educational piece around if we want Syrah to be the lighter body style of Shiraz holistically as a market in Australia, then there’s a broader piece of work to be done and a differentiation of styles. And I think we did see that today as a whole. There was still, as I said, that sort of crossover category where it could be both and there was some of those wines that were probably too light on their feet and lacked the mid palette intensity to be really good wine so, there’s work to be done. But I think the customers shouldn’t… and even Pinot Gris and Grigio customers still don’t understand 100% of what the difference is. A lot of the time [regarding wine labelling], it’s marketing,” said Vercoe. He then framed how the confusion can unfold between winemakers and consumers: “You know, ‘I make a Pinot Gris that has lots of oak and lees work but I’ll call it a Pinot Grigio’. And still some people that drink straight Pinot Grigio go, ‘Oh no, it’s a bit textural for me!’ So there’s always going to be an educational grey area around it.”
Liinaa Berry commented on the changing preferences among diners at restaurants. “I’m seeing is a lot more people looking for brighter styles of wine. Particularly in the sort of restaurants where I’m working,” she said. “Even though it’s steak and everything, people are understanding that they don’t need to layer rich food on rich wine. I’m seeing the younger generation of people looking for more vibrant wines – wines like Syrahs from Victoria. Instead of going for a Pinot, they want that sort of light to medium bodied wine, so they’re going with a Victorian Syrah rather than going with like, you know, Pinot which might be too light, Grenache might be too spicy, so they are looking for savouriness and prettiness in their wine. What is really cool, is to actually see lots more people going with lighter style to compliment the food.”
“There’s so much scope,” said Rush. “Because there’s so much variation in style. They’re good wines. And you look around vineyards, there’s so much heart there too. It’s going to be a harder education for the customer once again, because they’re always going to benchmark it against a Barossa Shiraz. What is ‘Syrah’? Oh, it’s the Shiraz grape? I’m, going to assume it’s gonna be this…”
Coralie Gelot grew up in food and wine with her parents both restaurateurs in her home of France. She came to Australia in 2015 on a hospitality visa, and worked her way through varying roles around the country, from cellar doors to retail, to vintage work, and gaining her WSET Level 3 Certificate along the way. Following a role at Bibendum Wine Co, in 2022 she joined the Hotel Windsor Group where she is now Beverage Manager, responsible for wine buying and training across their venues.
Chris Ryan is a senior wine buyer with Trader House restaurants, which encompasses Andrew McConnell’s suite of venues, including Gimlet, Cutler & Co., Supernormal and Marion. Ryan holds diplomas from WSET and the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale, is a French Wine Scholar and also Court of Master Sommeliers certified. He was crowned the Best Sommelier of Australia in 2021. Ryan also makes wine in the Yarra Valley under his Honky Chateau label.
Rory Lane came to wine after completing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Comparative Literature (Ancient Greek tragedy) before diverting to study a Masters in Wine Technology and Marketing, while also completing vintages both here and in Oregon, USA. In 2004, he made the first offering under his The Story Wines label, with a central focus on the grapes of the Rhône Valley, primarily shiraz/syrah from the Grampians, but with some diversions, too. Today, that central focus is the same, though his range has expanded somewhat, even including a range of gins. Lane also works as a consultant to other makers.
Gary Mills path to wine came via a literature degree at Curtin University in his hometown of Perth. Mills also studied Japanese at the time, which gave him the edge on getting a placement at California’s iconic Ridge Vineyard with Paul Draper. Mills spent three years at Ridge, from what was originally a three-month role, then worked further north in Oregon. In 2003, he began his Jamsheed label, forging an uncommon path with syrah/shiraz at the time from the Yarra Valley and Grampians, with 100 per cent whole bunch at the core. Mills also runs his urban winery in Melbourne’s Preston, complete with bar and dining hall.
James Vercoe started his career in wine working in fine-dining restaurants in the UK. Back home, he ran the beverage programs at Port Phillip Estate and Paringa Estate on the Mornington Peninsula. After working for over a decade as a sommelier/beverage manager, Vercoe managed leading wine importer The Spanish Acquisition for three years, before going to work for Coles Liquor Group. Vercoe completed his WSET Diploma in 2018 and has just sat the entrance exams to the MW program. Vercoe also judges at domestic wine shows.
Ben Mullen is owner/winemaker of Mulline in Geelong. Originally a Barossa native, Mullen studied business and marketing while paying the bills through cellar door work. Before long, that marketing degree was switched out for winemaking, and he later graduated as a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology at Adelaide University. Mullen has worked at some of the finest wineries around the world, such as Leeuwin Estate (his first vintage, in 2012), Torbreck, Yarra Yering and Oakridge on our shores, as well as Domaine Dujac in Burgundy, and Craggy Range, New Zealand. He went to Craggy Range as an assistant winemaker, but he graduated to winemaker at the Hawkes Bay star in only 18 months. Prior to launching Mulline, he was the chief winemaker at Clyde Park.
Lisa Cardelli is a WSET Diploma holder and freelance wine writer. She has worked across the industry, including being the head sommelier and buyer at Rosetta, along with stints working for niche wholesalers Terroir Selections and Tricolore. She is currently the Account Coordinator for the Halliday Wine Companion, and a wine reviewer for Wine Pilot. Cardelli is also a WSET Educator for Prince Wine Store and Wine House. She was the recipient of the 2022 Sydney Royal Wine Professional Development Scholarship for AWAC, sponsored by the Len Evans Tutorial. Cardelli is also a wine show judge and the winner of the 2022 Wine Communicators of Australia Best Published Feature Article award.
Liinaa Berry is a Sommelier Consultant. She has had 20 years on the frontlines of wine in hospitality, acting as a curator for the last decade across notable venues in Adelaide and Melbourne, including, 2KW Bar and Restaurant, Mount Lofty House Estate, Pentridge and Sequoia Luxury Lodge, and TFW Hotels. In 2023, her work for Olivine wine bar won Australia’s Best New Wine List at the Wine List of the Year Awards.
Gabriella Rush is a wine retail and hospitality professional. Currently studying her WSET Diploma, she has worked vintage between Australia and France, notably with the likes of Mount Mary in Yarra Valley and Domaine Chavy Chouet in Burgundy. Her former retail roles in Melbourne have spanned from Dan Murphys as a Wine Merchant to Blackhearts North Fitzroy store Manager. Rush has also worked at Noble Rot Magazine in London, and has recently launched her own wine label, ByGab.
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