25 TOP SYRAH/SHIRAZ REDS

Two names, a multitude of personalities. For almost two centuries, Syrah has been woven into the fabric of the southern hemisphere's wine world. Today, it makes some of the most exciting and terroir-expressive wines to be found south of equator, with a growing shift towards single-site bottlings

- AMANDA BARNES

The story of Syrah in the southern hemisphere is believed to have started with the Scottish viticulturist and 'father of Australian wine' James Busby, who brought Syrah vines with him to the continent in 1832. Since then, Australia has become one of the world leaders in Syrah, and still has some of the original, ungrafted vines, planted in the mid-1800s.

Second only to France in area under vine (see box, p45), Australia has made Syrah its own - not only in plantings, but also in name. The nation's adoption of 'Shiraz' as a synonym for Syrah had two notable impacts on the broader wine industry. First, it added to the confusion over the variety's origins, providing support for the belief that it's somehow related to the Persian city of Shiraz: a gaffe that Busby himself made while writing in his journal. More recent DNA testing, however, has shown that the variety originated in the Rhône valley, in southeast France. Perhaps more significantly, though, Australia's adoption of the name - along with its wildly different style of Syrah compared to that of the Rhône valley popularised the notion of 'Shiraz' as a richer, riper, bolder, more fruit-driven - and distinctly New World - wine. This notion of Shiraz, as opposed to Syrah, and the associated style, have been adopted by many producers worldwide.

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

Australia certainly still champions rich 'Shiraz' styles today, and some of the most acclaimed Australian Shiraz is unabashedly rich and chocolatey, often creeping well above 15% alcohol. The wines of Barossa in South Australia, in particular, are typically of this ilk, and widely well loved for it.