Syrah is perhaps the most well known of the Rhône varietals as it is well suited to produce really big wines that offer aging potential and varied flavor profiles for the high end consumer. If it wasn’t for my love of Grenache I would say Syrah is a most favored varietal for me because of its many profiles and adaptations both within California and around the world. I love the flavors and variety that Syrah offers.

California Syrah always held the promise to challenge Cabernet Sauvignon for a truly noble California grape with blockbuster wines, but its popularity has never been able to nudge out either Cabernet, Pinot Noir or Zinfandel in total acreage or volume. Acreage of Syrah in California is actually down in 2020 over the boom time of 2000-2010. Still total tons crushed are about 75,000 per year as published by the Wine Institute, and many counties across California have significant plantings of Syrah, from Santa Barbara County up through Mendocino County and many counties in between and beyond, including the interior and Sierra foothill regions. The 2022 USDA California Census report for wine varietals grown shows Syrah solidly in the lead for Rhône varietals at just under 15,000 acres. That is more than 3 times what exists for Grenache, and puts Syrah almost in the league with the most popular varietals.

What makes Syrah special? Well the variety you will find in a number of different styles. Syrah is often a big and complex wine, but it doesn’t have to be. I know of a Syrah running at 12% alcohol and with no barrel aging, it is the true essence of the fruit. It can be medium bodied too, if aged with very neutral oak for not too long. Of course some Syrah is allowed to get really ripe and offers big flavor profiles with a significant amount of oak aging followed with plenty of bottle aging, and yes high alcohol content too. So you can choose between a large swath of flavors and styles in this varietal. Syrah is of course often blended with the other 2 classic Rhone red grapes Grenache and Mourvèdre to produce GSM, although most GSM’s are typically Grenache or Mourvèdre heavy, but not always. Syrah dominant wines are popular and often the flagship of some of the most revered wineries in California. As far as blending, it is worth mentioning that across much of France, some Viognier (maybe ~5%) is often co-fermented with the Syrah to bring out some more special florals and texture to the wine. I love Syrah-Viognier blends. And you should ask your Syrah wine maker if they do it this way. I know for a fact Cedarville Vineyard do, as I watched it get crushed in 2023 when I worked at Cedarville.

What area of the state produces the most expensive Syrah? Well it is not Napa, it is a cult winery sourcing from the Santa Barbara and Santa Rita Hills area named, Sine Qua Non. This winery produces bottles in the $500 range from several sources. But you don’t have spend $500 to have excellent Syrah from California, a whole eclectic range of product exists from $15-100 a bottle, but typically amazing Syrah starts around $30 retail if you want special California Estate grown and bottled Syrah. I notice that Paso Robles, Santa Rita, and Santa Barbara Syrah’s that are highly rated often stretch from $50-100 a bottle, in the north state the prices are less steep, especially in the Sierra foothills, Mendocino or Sonoma.

If you are new to the endevour of a particular high end Syrah region such as Paso Robles, which is big on high end vineyards and estates now, you might want to search out a few from the list of members at the Rhone Rangers and give that method a try. Rhone Ranger members tend to be the pick of the litter. The ratings and info at Wine Enthusiast are reliable. Some of the wineries in this area that have highly prized Syrah’s are Booker, Sextant and TH Estate. But that is just a start, if you are endeavoring into the high end Syrah of Paso Robles you will need to be selective and careful, the list of top end wineries is deep. And of course, Syrah stretches much further south from there as well.

Wait, what about the northern half of the State, where I live? Well these wines can be stunning as well. Let’s take a look at a few wineries to consider. Amador and El Dorado Counties can be good sources for excellent Syrah. Bill Easton and Terre Rouge is a highly awarded Syrah specialist, and their Ascent Syrah was awarded 100 points by Wine Enthusiast, at least in one year, and typically it is 95+ wine. Many renditions exist at Terre Rouge, and his estate DTR Syrah is less expensive and still a blockbuster in my mind. There are a good number of well crafted Syrahs across this region, and one of the best vineyards I enjoy is the Fenaughty vineyard which produces rich, velvety smooth, smoke and violet tinged Syrah especially when you age it for 5-10 years. The Fenaughty vineyard has done the best in my cellar over the last 20 years. You can do a search on Google for ‘Fenaughty Syrah’ and see who produced with it, however for consistency I buy this wine from Holly’s Hill in the Pleasant Valley AVA of El Dorado (Holly’s Hill can ship you this wine). In the San Francisco area, you might try Donkey and Goat, and there are more that source this fruit. I know this wine sells out pretty quickly at Holly’s Hill so if it is available, you better move on it. The Syrah vines at Fenaughty were grafted way back in the 1980’s so this may be some old vine expression that you will enjoy, if you enjoy big and bold wine.

One winery in Sonoma that does complex and big Syrah very well is Argot Wines. Justin Harmon started with Syrah and he’s still doing it almost 20 years later, and his Sonoma Mountain fruit is something special. This wine is very big, I would wait a bit on opening the bottles and let them integrate for a few years. But they are very complex from blueberry to deep purple flowers and cocoa. If you want an incredible expression of Sonoma County Syrah, this would be my recommendation. You can read up on Justin Harmon’s love of Sonoma Mountain Syrah in this post by Wine Spectator.

What Grenache is to red fruit roll ups and intense herbal notes, Syrah is to complexity, depth, darker fruit, cherry, violets/flowers, cocoa, tobacco, leather, spices and more. If you are into big wines, maybe from Bordeaux, then you should give Syrah a try as well. California Syrah can be especially complex and delicious. I drink it often, both locally and from places like Argot Wines.

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