Syrah

Crozes-Hermitage is an appellation in France's northern Rhone Valley where Syrah rules the roost. In fact, Syrah is the only red grape allowed to grow here and in the entire northern Rhone, for that matter. Whites are rare and they're another story.

This big, dark, full bodied red has all the bells and whistles you want to find in high quality French Syrah, namely, ripe dark fruit flavours with aromas of white pepper and savoury spice. It's three years old and still youthful, but drinks well now, decanted. It will continue to age for up to a decade in a good cellar.

100% Syrah from the Schist soils of Domaine Jamet some 4km from Ampuis located on a plateau, known as 'Le Vallin'. Here we find a great variety of terroirs, exposure and vine age which Jamet uses to the max in driving complexity in his wines.

This Cote-Rotie is produced from twenty parcels, using whole bunches, maceration of about three weeks and is ageing in oak for 22 months - 15% new.

The parcels are found in 15 different locations - Fongeant, Cote Blonde, Landonne, Cote Rozier, Plomb, Chavaroche, Moutonnes, Lesardes, Gerine, Truchet, Leyat, Bonnivieres, Cote Bodin, Tartaras and Rochins.

Shockingly good given the difficulties in Crozes during the growing season (it rained - a lot), the 2021 Crozes-Hermitage Silene has a pretty, complex, elegant perfume of red berries, spring flowers, cedary herbs, and pepper, with some classic Northern Rh?ne bacon fat. Nicely textured, medium-bodied, and elegant, with good ripeness, it's a rock-solid, classic, old school-styled Crozes to enjoy over the coming 7-8 years.

90 Jeb Dunnuck, May 2023

Commercial description

Cote-Rotie "La Turque" is one of the flagship of the Domaine Guigal. A powerful wine with spicy notes, its terroirs from the Cote Brune with ?blond accents? lends it a great elegance.

Soil type
Silicone limestone with schistes producing clay soil rich in iron oxyde.

Grape variety
93 % Syrah, 7% Viogner.

Average age of vines
25 years

Winemaking
Thermoregulated stainless steel tanks. Automated punching down. Alcoholic fermentation/4 week maceration.

Ageing
42 months in new oak.

Average yield
35 Hl / hectare.

Tasting notes
Eye : Deep ruby red with dark tints.
Nose : Small red fruit, blackberry, morello cherry Intensely aromatic, powerful and elegant.
Palate : Supple attack with a balanced supple structure, concentration and elegant tannins. Fully expressive of the terroir.
Overall : With all the virility of the C?te Brune, La Turque also has all the subtlety and femininity of the C?te Blonde.

Commercial description

The C?te-R?tie ? La Mouline ? is one of the most emblematic of the Guigal domain?s wines. Small quantities are produced each year from a vineyard in the heart of the ?C?te Blonde?. This is a voluptuous, silky and intensely aromatic wine.

Soil type
Terraced wines in the shape of a Roman amphitheatre. Gneis with lighly coloured silicone soil with limestone l?ss.

Grape variety
89 % Syrah, 11 % Viognier.

Average age of vines
about 75 years

Winemaking
Thermoregulated stainless steel tanks. Traditional pumping over. Alcoholic fermentation/ 4 week maceration..

Ageing
42 months in new oak

Average yield
35 Hl / hectare.

Tasting notes
Eye : Ruby red with red vermillion tints.
Nose : Small red fruits, blackberry and floral violet aromas.Intensely aromatic, powerful but full of finesse.
Palate : Supple with balance between the finesse of the aromas and an explosive richness due to the concentration of the wine. Greatly expressive of the terroir.
Overall : A feminine wine with voluptuous silky texture and intense aromas.

This is an archetypal expression of the finesse and elegance of the wines of C?te-R?tie made with grapes grown on the Silicone limestone of the C?te Blonde and the iron oxide rich soils of the C?te Brune.

96% Syrah and 4% Viognier from vines that with an average age of 30+ years. Fermentation is in closed stainless steel tanks using automatic punching down and
temperature control over and average of 3 weeks. 36 months in oak - 50% new.

Dark ruby red in the glass with aromas of spice, red berries and delicate oak. Sumptuous round tannins on the palate balance deep raspberry, blackberry and
vanilla flavours.

Huchet Syrah is a deeply coloured red wine with dark plum fruit flavours held in a highly structured, full bodied dry style with spicy complexity and a long finish. It's named after Brother Cyprian Huchet, the son of a French winemaker from the Loire Valley who was one of the first winemakers in New Zealand when he worked at Mission Estate in 1871. 

This wine is made in very limited volumes from top quality vintages only.

Great new Syrah from French winemaker Jean-Baptiste Souillard in the St Joseph appellation in France's northern Rhone Valley. 

Spicy black pepper, notes of cardamon and dried herbs all make this red a keeper as well as delicious now. 

A great Syrah with black plum, blackberry and ripe red cherry notes from French winemaker Jean-Baptiste Souillard. 

This spicy full bodied red is new in store and offers great drinking now as well as ageing potential for up to a decade, potentially beyond. 

Everything that great Syrah can be is present and accounted for in this plummy, spicy, chocolatey dark red wine from Cote Rotie, the northernmost appellation for Syrah in France's Rhone Valley. 

Full bodied, dry, spicy and rich right now, this impressive red will age well, evolving into a silky, even more seductive red over at least 10 years.