Que Syrah, Syrah: Top 20 Cool-Climate Shiraz

Posted on Jul 19, 2018

What’s in a name? That which we call a shiraz by any other name would taste as spicy…

Well, that’s how Shakespeare might have put it if he’d been a wine writer musing about the different expressions of Australian shiraz.

The Bard’s immortal question is of particular relevance in the contest between cool-climate and warm climate shiraz.

Wine show judges are in no doubt as to which way they jump. Cool-climate versions claimed 12 of the top 20 shiraz labels exhibited in Australia last year according to our rankings and seven of the top 10. Indeed, the best-performing major region for the variety in 2017 was NSW’s chilly Hilltops terroir.

But the top of the table didn’t necessarily reflect the broader category. While cool-climate examples heavily outnumbered their less fashionable warm-climate comrades at the shows (4683:3087) wines from established warm regions tended to outpoint the arrivistes from cooler climes.

That’s more in line with consumer tastes. Judges might prefer the leaner, spicier profiles of cool-climate shiraz but retailers say consumers like the fuller, fruit dominant wines that made the Barossa famous.

And is there really a difference or is it all just a marketing contrivance? To find out we compared the tasting notes from a few critics. We isolated their reviews of our top 15 cool and warm climate shiraz and looked for the most common adjectives. What we found was this:

  • The most common descriptions that distinctively applied to warm-climate shiraz were: “deep colour”, “oak”, “tannins”, “bouquet”, “black” or “dark fruits”, “full-bodied”, “licorice” and “time”.
  • The most common descriptions that distinctively applied to cool-climate shiraz were: “plum”, “cherry”, “acid”, “red fruits”, “spice”, “chewy and, perhaps oddly, “big”.

Separating “cool” and ”warm” climate regions in Australia is more of an art than an science. Even noted producers from the favoured cool climates admit their wines are differentiated more by style than temperature.

So, using a very broad brush to define them, here are the top 20 “cool-climate” shiraz labels as presented to Australian wine shows last year:

1 Blue Pyrenees Section One Shiraz 2014
2 Blue Pyrenees Shiraz 2014
3 Sidewood Mappinga Shiraz 2015
4 Miles From Nowhere Shiraz 2016
5 Lerida Shiraz Viognier 2016
6 De Bortoli Woodfired Heathcote Shiraz 2016
7 Norfolk Rise Shiraz 2016
8 Innocent Bystander Syrah 2016
9 McWilliams 1877 Shiraz 2015
10 Houghton Thomas Yule Shiraz 2015
11 Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz 2015
12 McWilliams 660 Hilltops Shiraz 2015
13 Evans & Tate Redbrook Shiraz 2014
14 Heathcote Winery Mail Coach Shiraz 2015
15 Watershed Senses Shiraz 2015
16 Four Sisters Shiraz 2015
17 Nepenthe Gate Block Shiraz 2015
18 Pinnacle Drinks Redemption Canberra Shiraz 2015
19 Houghton Crofters Shiraz 2014
20 Xanadu Exmoor Shiraz 2014

This list is drawn from the single biggest category at Australian wine shows. Nearly 4000 individual labels were presented to Australasian wine shows in 2017 with judges working their way through 7815  individual tastings. Their collective scores represent the most comprehensive coverage anywhere of Australian and NZ shiraz.

These ratings have now been collated for the first time in Vinloco’s 2018 Australasian Wine Form annual. This year’s 900-page book includes:

  • The broadest, deepest and most up-to-date coverage of Australasian wines anywhere
  • Classification of nearly 14,000 wines from sparkling to fortified
  • Compilation of more than 41,000 scores from 60 shows
  • Top wine lists for 23 major classes
  • Commentary on each major class about winemaking trends and judging considerations
  • Statistical summaries including medal tallies, strike rates and best regions.

Vinloco’s Australasian Wine Form is destined to become an annual must-have for wine professionals and consumers alike. To buy your copy, click here or on the book cover below.

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