Côtes du Rhône Syrah(Shiraz)
There’s no doubt that “Rhône-style” wines continue to capture the attention of wine growers and drinkers all over the world. The region is well known for the hearty, heady, crowd-pleasing Syrah (Shiraz) grape. Back in France, Syrah is the only grape legally grown in the northern Rhône Valley. Syrah wines aren't as famous, or expensive, as Burgundies or Bordeaux. But they are distinctive -- and some of them are terrific bargains.
Syrah, despite having the reputation of being a warm weather grape, actually does not respond well in hot, dry climates. The wineries I visited are located in the Southern Rhone. Almost every vinyard I visited, people are are not thrilled. The global warming has ruined the quality and reputation of Syrah. For example, southern grown syrah rarely shows floral notes, and the aromas and flavours tend to be like a fig character, and earthier notes like black olive and bacon. According to the experts, consumers like their Syrah to be more floral and fruity. Every year more and more productions in the Southern Rhone end up in supermarkets for cheap sales. This is also why southern syrah is often more than 14 percent alcohol, whereby in the north both sugar and tannins ripen at the same time, you most often find wines that are perfectly ripe at or under 13 per cent alcohol.
In the video below, the owner of the wine store explains not only the wine quality is changing but the culture in how we drink wine is also changing.
soil supplies water and nutrients that influence the vigor of the vine, the balance between vegetative growth and fruit, the yield of grapes and grapes quality. A number of pests and diseases of grapevines, such as nematodes, phylloxera, and the spores of the downy mildew fungus, live in the soil and can have a profound effect on the health and longevity of the plants. Maintaining the soil in good condition physically (soil structure), chemically (adequate nutrients and no toxicities), and biologically (organic matter turnover and biodiversity) is important for sustained yield and vine longevity. The soil profile below shows the change in sediment size, type and iron content within 100meter of distance. Note the color change among the sandy loam A horizon, the clay-enriched B horizon with Fe2O3 accumulation, and the pale-colored horizon of weathering siltstone. All these soil type dictates the grape quality and aroma. Hence the concept terroir which represents how the wine grapes reveal the true taste of earth.
