Syrah, Rhone Valley

Syrah is a red grape variety widespread mainly in the French region of the Rhône Valley. Contrary to what was thought in the past, fabling about the name and its spicy notes, it is not a grape of oriental origin brought to Hermitage by some knights returning from the Crusades. Much more prosaically, the syrah comes from a spontaneous cross between the mondeuse blanc, an ancient variety of Savoy, and the dureza, a grape native to the Ardeche region. Today syrah is the symbolic grape of the wines of the upper Rhône Valley, in particular of the Appellation Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Cornas is also one of the grapes used to produce the wines of the Lower Rhône region: Gigondas Vaqueyras and especially Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It is a variety that produces wines of good structure, with floral aromas, of small berries, embellished with the characteristic notes of oriental spices and black pepper. In Italy, it is cultivated with excellent results in Tuscany, both in purity in the Cortona area and in the Bolgheri area as a complementary grape to cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot in the Supertuscan blends. It is also cultivated with interesting results also in Sicily. In the rest of the world it is widespread, mainly in Australia under the name of Shiraz.

Located in the south-eastern part of France, the Rhone Valley is one of the most significant wine-growing areas, the extension of which follows the course of the Rhone, from Lyon to the delta of the river that flows into the Mediterranean. The territory is very vast and is characterized by a notable variety of soils and mesoclimate. The northern and southern areas of the valley are clearly distinguished, given the absence of vineyards between them for about 40 kilometers. The northern part is smaller but more marked by quality, mainly characterized by the presence of granite hills and an overall continental climate. From it come great white wines made from Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne grapes, but above all great red wines made from Syrah grapes. It includes highly reputed areas such as Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie. The southern part of the valley, on the other hand, is more prolific and less prestigious but contains the famous appellation Châteauneuf-du-pape.