Panel tasting: South American Syrah

Not traditionally the first port of call for this well-loved spicy red grape, but producers across the whole continent are growing in confidence to find their own styles, as Peter Richards MW explains

Syrah: the Cinderella of South America? It’s frequently overlooked in favour of more glamorous rivals – Cabernet, Carmenère or Pinot in Chile, Malbec or Cabernet Franc in Argentina, Tannat or Albariño in Uruguay. It certainly makes an appearance at the grand ball of South American wine, even taking an occasional (if brief) starring role. Yet the threat of reversion to the mundane norm as midnight looms seems ever present.

It’s a shame, because Syrah has huge potential in South America. It is more forgiving in the vineyard than Pinot, yet capable of similarly winning elegance and perfume. It ducks and dives into more sprightly, provocative, intriguing territory than the sturdier styles of Malbec, Cabernet or Tannat. It thrives in the breathless altitudes of Argentina’s uplands, just as it excels in Chile’s degraded granite coastal slopes. The sheer diversity of styles that Syrah can produce is exemplary, and growing more nuanced as winemakers treat it with due sensitivity.

Untapped potential

Take Brazil. Vineyard data is hard to come by, but there is little Syrah planted here beyond a few producers in the south and some in Vale do São Francisco. And yet there are already one or two outstanding Syrahs being made in the country, some from vines that are harvested two or even three times a year – suggesting real potential for a grape that has very little track record. More work is surely advisable.

Uruguay has little in the way of Syrah, nor does it seem a particular focus given the clear hegemony of Tannat (27% of the national vineyard). Beyond this, other reds such as Cabernets

Sauvignon and Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir – even Marselan and Arinarnoa – seem to enjoy precedence. Some successful wines are blends.

Argentina has significantly more Syrah planted than Chile, yet the wines seem curiously hard to find among the oceans of Malbec. Seriously ambitious Syrah from Argentina is a rare beast and it struggles to match the excitement of the country’s top Malbecs. Mendoza accounts for 70% of the country’s Syrah and the higher reaches of the Uco Valley produce some of the country’s finest examples. Yet there is potential all along the Andean west, from Salta down to Patagonia (San Juan and La Rioja also have significant plantings).

Chile is the South American nation where Syrah has shone most brightly to date. It’s quite startling to note that Syrah only arrived in Chile in the mid-1990s. In little over two decades, Syrah has undoubtedly proven its huge potential for diversity and quality,

Chile

Uruguay

Brazil from the peppery, sprightly style of Elqui to the beautiful scents and beguiling textures of coastal realms, via more opulent expressions from the likes of Apalta or Limarí. Syrah’s vineyard growth – once exponential – has fallen back of late, though.

The potential is all there. For now, despite some notable successes to date, Syrah remains in need of fairy godmothers or handsome princes, in the form of Syrah obsessives to champion the variety and give it a chance of happy-ever-after. (based on Chile as the main region) 2019

Heatwaves and water shortages meant lower yields and an earlier harvest than in 2018. Powerful and concentrated wines. Coastal areas seem to have fared best. (Argentina’s third good, warm vintage in a row.)

2018

A potentially outstanding vintage and a welcome boost after two difficult years. A cooler, later year after 2017 with a generous yield and excellent potential for elegant, expressive wines. (Argentina: warm days and cool nights gave bright, exuberant wines.)

2017

Torrid heat and forest fires beset one of the earliest, lowest-yielding vintages of modern times. Beware smoke taint. (Argentina: warm year, expressive styles.)

2016

Torrential autumn rain hit a slow-maturing vintage, yet those few who harvested early and focused on elegance escaped the worst. (Argentina: cool and rainy year, lighter styles.)

2015

Warm weather gave generous wines, often very good; all but the best are to drink up now. 2014

Spring frosts hit cooler areas but the season ended well. Wines well defined, expressive, the best capable of long ageing.

Peter Richards MW is the DWWA Regional Chair for Chile