Well, after a minor jag a few years back on South Australian (Barossa, McClaren Vale) Shiraz, and a rather successful foray into Santa Barbara Syrah, including some futures purchases from the Wine Cask, I've done another round of Syrah exploration over the past few months, as LCBO seems to be well-supplied with the stuff and the Australian ones, at least, regularly tack up 90+ point reviews.  The results have been pretty good, overall.

I'll start with two wines from Cornas; these are the first Cornas I've ever tried, as this appellation in the Northern Rhône Valley of France is rather small (90 hectares, or 222 acres) and perhaps a bit obscure compared to its better-known and even more expensive Northern Rhône siblings Hermitage and Côte Rotie.  It shares with these siblings steep hillside vineyards overlooking the Rhone river, on the right (west) bank, granite soils (along with some clay and limestone), and predominant use (in the case of Cornas, exclusive use) of the Syrah (Aussie: Shiraz) grape.  It's reputedly a bit more rustic than the other two, hence, probably, its lower price.  But it's a fullbodied wine, considered ageworthy and potentially great.  The 2005 Cornas "Empreintes", Joel & Eric Durand, vignerons, GAEC du Lautaret, 07130 Chateaubourg, bought because it was on sale at LCBO, was the first Cornas I've ever tasted, and it lived up to the reputation of the appelation.  I couldn't find anyone who'd tasted it at LCBO, but one guy scanned the barcode and some tasting note or other came up on their computer, maybe with a high score, I don't recall.  Anyway, I've wondered for decades what this stuff was like, so I bit.  My notes say: "Great nose of blueberry with hints of something complex and indefinable; smooth mouthfeel with fine tannins; blueberry and maybe a bit of what some call bacon fat.  Rather sappy.  [Like most tasting notes?]  Hints of cola?  Medium full-bodied.  Suave, a bit velvety.  Good length.  Some dark tannins devloping in the finish, with air.  Even a hint of red hots in the nose.  This wine seems to be exploring an aspect of Syrah one finds often in Australia---but with a certain velvety balance that's French.  13.5% alcohol.  Has a certain creaminess to it.  I think we can say white pepper on the finish."  This was on sale because there weren't many bottles left and LCBO likes to blow out the old and bring on the new like clockwork, making it hard to go back and find things after you taste them and realize you want more.   In this case I tried, and it was gone.  This was one of the better wines I've ever had, and while the tannins seemed rather loosely held in a relatively juicy wine, so that perhaps one might expect a relatively rapid dropping of tannin and aging process, it did seem worth cellaring for the next 5-10  years.  Expensive even on sale (in the range of $30+ CDN), but worth it.

Keen to try more Cornas, I had the 2005 Domaine du Tunnel.  Cornas is reputed to be rather inky and tannic when young, and this one more than the Empreintes (which was, however, no lightweight) lived up to that rep.  My notes say "Purple-black, dark tastes, medium fine, coagulating tannins feel "suspended".  Inky---sappy juicy fruit but with lots of dark burnt toast kind of elements---green olive---should throw its tannin, maybe soon, and develop more. "  This too was quite a good wine, really a dense, powerful one, but still quite young;  if I were "investing" in this to cellar and drink, I would wait a few years before trying it again---maybe two years if I had 6 bottles, one if I had a case.  It is one of those wines you can tell is extremely promising, but because it's quite tannic and somewhat closed up even though dense and potentially powerful, it isn't really a hedonistic drinking experience right now.  I drank this at a neat little restauarant, Reba and Pancho's, in Lewisburg, PA, with a perfectly cooked medium rare ribeye steak on a bed of roasted potatoes, wilted greens, and a light red chile sauce, benefiting from Pennsylvania's apparent draconian grip on (or high prices for) liquor licenses which forces many restaurants, like R & P's,  to be BYO.  Plus I met some nice Lewisburg wine folk who were holding a kind of informal wine-club dinner get-together at another table.  The restaurant combines a bit of foodie-ness with small-college-town hominess, and friendly staff all 'round; look it up if you're going through Lewisburg.  (Entrees in the 20s, starters in the mid to high single digits, desserts 6.)  I went there on Alex Wilce's recommendation. I left Alex the remaining Cornas, and he said that while initially put off by the high tannin or acid, it grew on him, drunk with a meal of sausage and rice.

I am extremely curious to see what happens to a good Cornas with a decade or more of aging.  At Christmas this year we had another bottle from a case of 1983 Chapoutier Hermitage my dad was wise enough to buy pre-release---it was really nice.  I can't find my notes on it, but I've had it several times over the years, and while one one relatively early occasion (well past 1983, though!) it seemed relatively closed and tannic and perhaps losing its fruit, the other bottles were all delicious, and very different from the above-described Cornas---primarily due to age.  While retaining some tannin, some has also dropped, and what remains just gives a pleasantly prickly spine to a wine that is very harmonious and elegant, mixing some black-currant and blackberryish fruitiness with hints of caramel and floral elements.  But the main thing about this and the better examples of other great old French wines I've had (and some great old California ones, on occasion) is hard to summarize by citing other tastes:  while having some complexity and diversity, it's harmoniously unified, and tastes like itself above all.  Plus the balance and elegance, that are difficult to describe, but really nice.  A lot of intensity, but not a lot of over-the-top tannic fruitiness.  Mmm.

Since I'm doing the Northern Rhone here,  how about completeing the Big Three with a Cote Rotie:  the 1983 Jaboulet "Les Jumelles".  My notes from 2007 say:  "Superb--balanced and silky, rose petal and raspberry and some tasty vanilla caramel notes.  sediment pretty much dropped, getting a slight orange edge and incipient signs of age but near its peak and fantastic!".

Okay, so France can do it; but if the Red power of Syrah is to rule the world, how is it doing Down Under?  Well, as Shiraz, it's been ensconced there for quite a long time.  I have no authoritative knowledge here; some web sources claim that the first commercial planting of Shiraz in Australia was by George Wyndham in 1830, while others seem to think James Busby may have brought the vines along with cuttings from other serious European varieties, in 1832 or 1833.  If I can find my copy of Hugh Johnson's history of wine, I'll see what he has to say.  Anyhow, there is a lot of Shiraz made in Oz, at all price points from the plonkiest "critter wine" to the apparently fabulous (at around $200 a bottle, I wouldn't know) Grange Hermitage from Penfolds.

The relatively hot climate South Australian appellations of Barossa and McClaren Vale are perhaps the best known for Shiraz. I've had good luck with them, overall, especially the rich but well-balanced 2005 vintage.  I figured I'd compare one to some West Australian examples of the grape.  I think West Australia's wine regions are generally considered to be cooler in climate than McClaren and the Barossa.  I recently tried the Chapel Hill 2007 (McClaren Vale), the Alkoomi 2007 (from the Frankland River appelation, in West Australia), and the Hope 2007 "The Ripper" West Australia (which, it says on the back label, is from the town of Donnybrook, in the Geographe appelation).  All of these had little cardboard squares in LCBO alleging that some dude or other had rated them 90ish.  I'm not that keen on numerical ratings, certainly not for comparing wines of very different regions or types, but I guess I'm still a bit influenced.  I'd say the Hope and the Chapel Hill might be considered to deserve such a rating (maybe more 89ish...one needs to leave room at the top for wines one can only imagine).

Raw notes on the Alkoomi, from yesterday:  "Good nose of classic Aussie Shiraz elements--red fruits (like cherry, raspberry) and a darkish thing.  Nice, medium full bodied, fine soft tannin.  Very cherry in the mouth, good long finish of cherry and some darker notes that sticks cleanly to the mouth (not a chewy tannin-coating).  Excellent.  Some breed/balance reminiscent of the 1999 Branaire-Ducru.  Some pretty decent hints of minerality developing, and hints of mint.  13.5% alcohol---surprising, doesn't seem that hot."  (Hot being winetasting jargon for the obtrusive taste/feel of high alchol.)  Tasted again today after overnight refrigeration (brought back to room temperature in the microwave---yeah, you read that right), I thought it didn't hold up that well, seeming much simpler than the previous day, but still a good  wine.  Some slightly vegetal, maybe hinting at jalapeno-pepper, elements seemed evident, also intense red fruits like maybe pomegranate.

Chapel Hill 2007 McClaren Vale Shiraz:  "On the nose, vanilla and oak; elegant, classic, and rich.  Similarly colored to the Alkoomi, which was a deep bright red, but slightly purpler and more opaque.  Wow!  Elegant and rich in the mouth!  Balanced.  Maybe it's oak but it's yummy---graham crackers, deep elegant fruit--fine, slightly more grainy tannins, perfectly poised between chewy and velvety.  Tarry elements.  long finish.  More mouthcoating than the Alkoomi.  14.5% alcohol.  A classic Aussie Barossa/McClaren Vale Shiraz thing going here."  That was two days ago.  Yesterday, it seemed more tannic, darker, less fruity, more closed.  Probably it had sat on its side in the fridge and some tannic sediment got all stirred up.  Still good but not as fun.  Today, after storage in the fridge door, it had more clarity again.  The fruit flavors in this are definitely darker fruits--blackberry.  Also some minerality, some dusty kind of elements.  The bouquet (that's the smell) really has some complexity---caramelly, sweet elements (probably from oak) along with dirt, dust, 'n fruit.  Is it a "blackberry oak-shake?", as some criticize the big, ripe, Parker-friendly hot-climate Australian Shirazez?  (Whoops, misspelled that.  All your Shirazez iz belong 2 us.  Somebody set up us da fruit bomb.)   Naah---it's a blackberry oak-shake with dirt and rocks.  But quite tasty.  At $22.75 CDN this is a good value for a nice example of the big hot-climate Aussie Shiraz style, with intense enough fruit to handle some tasty new oak, and pretty well-balanced and elegant for a wine with 14.5 degrees of alcohol.

Now, opened today, the Hope 2007 West Australian Shiraz "The Ripper" purports to be a cooler-climate, more elegant style of Shiraz.  It's not as high-acid as the Alkoomi, but at first seemed otherwise quite similar, if a tad more intense, and a bit better balanced and more velvety.  It has somewhat darker fruit flavors, like hints of blackcurrant or maybe blackberry --- but maybe one should just skip the fruit list; you get the general idea.  Maybe not quite as complex as the Chapel Hill, but very tasty.  Tasted again after dinner, it seems to have even improved---very elegant and velvety, flavors getting a bit deeper, more elements of chocolate.  I tend to scoff when a label gets as subtle as "white chocolate" but I thought it made sense this time.

Well, we've only covered two continents and if anything is going to rule the globe, it had better have a handle on California.  And Syrah indeed does but I'll have to leave that for next time.