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Wine Society Syrah and Shiraz
These are notes from a recent tasting of wines currently listed by the Wine
Society. It is easy to criticise this co-operative society, and I confess I have
done so in the past. The Society does not always seem to act in the best
interests of its members (every vintage they sell en primeur gets a very
positive write-up, for instance), and the list is dominated by a huge amount of
daily drinkers. But I suppose they have to cater for their members' tastes, and
if these wines sell, then it would be foolish not to list them. And on the
positive side, the list always includes something of interest, and the
service they offer is impeccable, particularly when it comes to deliveries, complaints and
refunds. No doubt this is why the Society scooped the IWC Mail Order Merchant of
the Year award in 2006, for a seventh consecutive year.
Having said all that, before this event I had never been to a Wine Society tasting. I would not have gone to this one either, but I was handed a free ticket, and it would have been churlish to refuse. It was certainly an interesting experience. During the tasting we were treated to a brief oral presentation concerning the ancestry of Syrah, starting with the theories concerning its geographical origin, in other words the debate about whether the variety originated from Shiraz in Persia or Syracuse in Sicily. I have always thought the former unlikely as there is no apparent explanation of how that name only seems to have persisted in Australia, where the variety has been cultivated for less than two centuries, and yet nowhere else. As it turns out, DNA studies by the usual team at UC Davis have demonstrated that Syrah is a natural crossing of Mondeuse Blanche, a Savoie variety, and Dureza from the Ardèche. All of which suggests to me that, regardless of the name, it was somewhere in mainland southern Europe, perhaps not too far from the Rhône Valley, that was the birthplace of Syrah. We were then treated to a verbal rundown of the wines, many of which were those easy drinkers the Society thrives on.
I have included prices for the wines, as listed by The Wine Society, as well as Wine-Searcher links for comparison with other retailers. I have no commercial connection with the Society, and do not sell wine myself. (1/5/07)
Wine Society Syrah and Shiraz - Tasting Notes
Tasted in March 2007. Click
to locate stockists.
Gilles Barge St-Joseph Clos des Martinets 2001: Sweet, slightly funky
fruit on the nose, rather aromatic but in a light, fragrant way. Confected and
quite herby. On the palate, light, accessible, lacking in midpalate flesh. Lean
and rather sharp. Finishes with a bitter twist. Fair at best. 13.5/20 (£11.50)
Chateau Courac Côtes du Rhône Villages Laudun 2002: Quite a pale hue.
A sweet, full, ripe fruit nose with a herby twist. Slightly charcoaly, with
sweet, somewhat confected fruit. Light to middleweight presence on the palate,
rounded, straightforward. Herby fruit. It has a little grip especially on the
finish. Not a bad petit vin. 14/20 (£5.75)
Domaine Ste-Anne Côtes du
Rhône St Gervais Syrah Les Morillons 2000: A good depth of
colour here. Quite dense. Sweet blackberry crumble on the nose, a little buttery
edge. Full, quite ripe, creamy style. Beneath it has a ripe, grippy nature, and
an attractively bitter, full presence, as well as the necessary acidity. This is
much more appealing. Approachable but would do well in the cellar, short-term.
16/20 (£13.50)
Domaine Condamine l'Evêque VdP des Côtes de Thongue Syrah 2005: A
deep, ripe, fruity colour. A touch reserved on the nose, although with sweet
Syrah fruit. Open, attractive, midweight, a touch lean and grippy, but with
fresh acidity. Really rather good taking into account the asking price. A decent
petit vin. 14.5/20 (£4.75)
Chateau Ste Eulalie Minervois 2004: Sweet cherry fruit, herby, clean
and attractive. The palate follows in the same vein, clean, light and appealing,
but with no stuffing. But it is attractive in a simple, approachable, midweek
style. 14/20 (£4.95)
Domaine de la Marque Corbières 2005: Deep fruit here; smoky, stony
character, and certainly attractive. Very forward, with obvious fruit on the
palate, which is rather light with just a little grip. Herby-funky Grenache
fruit, I suspect this variety (as well as Carignan, no doubt) plays a reasonable part in this blend. A decent
petit vin. 14/20 (£5.50)
Chateau de Cazeneuve Pic St Loup Les Calcaires 2004: Quite a funky
nose, with hot, baked rocks and plenty of feral, animal fur characteristics
which may well related to the 20% Mourvèdre in this blend. Quite full, detached,
fresh and appealing. But rather furry here also. But it has a nice bite, fresh
acidity and a grippy finish. This would cellar well, short-term, I am sure.
16+/20 (£9.95)
Domaine du Mas Blanc Collioure Les Junquets 2002: Very open, pervasive
fruit on the nose. Herby, stony and very attractive in an appealing fashion
which is typical of Roussillon. Fresh, detached, but with a lovely, rich
extract. Grippy, with firm flavour, a touch funky. Nicely fresh right through to
the finish. Well well put together. Good. 16.5+/20 (£20.00)
Chateau Ksara Réserve du Couvent (Lebanon) 2004: A very deep colour,
with a nose of dark fruits. Deep, creamy, peppery, with cinnamon spice. Full and
powerful, but it has freshness, and very, very firm tannins. Rather brutal
structure in fact. A little toffee alongside the dark fruit flavour. Overall
rather rustic. It has some appeal, though. 15/20 (£7.25)
Swan Bay Shiraz (Australia) 2004: Sweet and creamy, stacked with
vanillin oak. Fruitgums, berries and oak in abundance here. Fruit juice style
palate, lacking structure. Soft round tannins but deficient in acidity.
12/20 (£7.95)
D'Arenberg d'Arry's Original Shiraz Grenache (Australia) 2004:
Very dark, forward, obvious, lifted nose, but still laden with fruits. Sweet.
Very rich and abundant in flavour, with dark, tarry fruit. Rather grippy. This
achieves a better balance than the previous wine, there is plenty of ripe tannin
and some acidity too. This will please many I think. Not quite my style though.
14.5/20 (£8.95)
Porcupine Ridge Syrah (South Africa) 2005: Plentiful, ripe, forward
fruit here, with a sooty, charcoaly edge on the nose. Full, sweet, fruit berry
crumble. Not too overdone. There is some fruit freshness on the palate which is
attractive, but also a little note of confection and a herby depth which adds
some interest. A rich full style; good if this is what you favour. 15/20 (£6.95)
Flagstone Dark Horse Shiraz (South Africa) 2003: Rich, a little
complex, notes of orange and tar. This has depth and interest. Very appealing
palate, an elegant style, attractive, some richness and yet still quite fresh. A
little grip underneath it too. This is good. 16/20 (£14.95)
Floresta Syrah (Maipo, Chile) 2004: Blackcurrant fruit pastille here,
intense but one-dimensional. Sweet, lots of depth, creamy, not really very
fresh. A lot of grip though. Seems rather overdone to me; over-ripe and
over-extracted. 12.5/20 (£12.95)
El Solar Syrah (Argentina) 2004: Stewed raspberry on toast here,
blueberries and tar. This wine smells more like a glass of port than some wines
that truly originate from the Douro. Soft, rounded, a touch light on the palate,
but intense, porty fruit. Not the freshness I would like. Very soft. 13/20
(£5.50)
Hayes Ranch Syrah (USA) 2003: A very dense colour, richly aromatic,
with smoky dried fruits, particularly blueberries. Rich palate, well delineated,
quite fresh, seems rather cool on the palate. Ripe, funky fruit pastille
character, saddle leather notes, rather reminds me of a Barossa Shiraz. Furry
fruit finish. The acidity is on the low side, but this certainly has an
interesting style. 15/20 (£5.75)
Qupé Syrah (USA) 2003: This is closed down, reticently so. Nice
texture, weight and grip on the palate. Again a low acid style. Fruit pastille
flavour coming through on the midpalate, so not completely shut down then.
Chewy, rather burnt style. Big and brawny. Another interesting wine. 15.5/20
(£11.95)
