Syrah: A grape you can have your way

“I could … make wine to American tastes, but that’s not the wine I want to make,” says Villard.

Perhaps syrah’s greatest asset is that it’s everything a wine like cabernet sauvignon is not.  If cab is all-new oak barrels that help spice up the wine, syrah is about old, neutral barrels and approachability (though the best syrah usually needs time to round out its powerful tannins and build up layers of taste). If cab is meant to be austere and refined, an aristocrat’s wine — and historically, that’s what cab’s homeland of Bordeaux is all about — syrah is a wine for the people.

That populist sentiment may be the best explanation why syrah has rallied in recent years. So dive in where you feel most comfortable, and don’t be afraid of its many personalities. It’s a grape with a thousand ways to please you.

TASTING NOTES
Some fun and unusual ways to explore syrah (or was that shiraz?). All these wines pay at least a nod to the French style, each in its own way.

Los Cardos 2003 Mendoza syrah (Vineyard Brands, $8)
The tastes of France, channeled through South America. Argentinian wine firm Viña Doña Paula makes this affordable bottling. It has lots of those Rhône flavors up front, if not all the weight or follow-through. But it’s hard to argue with the price.

Terre Rouge 2002 Côtes de l’Ouest California syrah ($15)
More proof of syrah’s adaptiveness. Winemaker Bill Easton creates this wine largely from fruit in the Sueño Vineyard, grown near the Amador County line east of Sacramento. The region, currently lumped into the Lodi appellation, is still emerging, and Easton labels it simply “California” wine. Sweet cherry, with tart white pepper and a gorgeous, lively core.

Jaboulet 2001 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert (Frederick Wildman & Sons, $25)
Crozes never gets as much credit as its famous sibling, Hermitage, but it offers the same style for a fraction of the price.  This is salty and bright, with plum and blue fruit up front and a supple finish.  Jaboulet is a master of this part of France, and this is an excellent example of an often underrated Rhône appellation.

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Dos Cabezas 2003 La Montaña syrah-merlot ($27)
This tiny winery is in Cochise County, Ariz., which alone makes it worth a try. But the wine is hardly a novelty. Salty syrah bounces off mellow merlot, with plum, red cherry and sweet vanilla caught in a great balance. If this is any indication, you may want to keep an eye on Arizona wine.

Kilikanoon 2002 Parable shiraz (Weygandt-Metzler, $30)
Beautifully pungent and a bit gamy. The fruit plays the backbeat here, with a salty mineral note that leaps forward, and a brush of tannins at the end. It’s Aussie, but there’s so much French soul hidden in here.

Edmunds St. John 2001 Wylie-Fenaughty syrah ($31)
The Berkeley, Calif., microwinery excels at channeling French style into California fruit. This ’01 syrah is well-balanced — round, briny and beautifully gamy, with dark, brambly fruit and an herbal note at the end. The fruit is from El Dorado County in northern California, more proof of the potential of as-yet-untapped regions of the Golden State.

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