Recommendations for Savory Syrah

Short version: Does anyone have any recommendations for Syrah that is elegant and on the savory side?

Long version: I am typically a fan of elegant, refined, light-on-its-feet wines. As such, Syrah was never all that appealing to me. But I recently tried an Ogier Cote Rotie that scratched an itch I didn’t know I had! It was not fruity or sweet, but intensely savory and earthy, full of umami. I loved it! I don’t know the vintage but it was less than 10 yrs old. Chasing the high of that bottle, I paid a reasonable amount for a 20+ yr old Hermitage that was thin and disappointing. Hoping to find that savoriness in a more economical package, I tried some well regarded Crozes-Hermitage, St. Joseph, a Syrah heavy Cotes du Rhone. They were all heavy, plodding, extracted, flabby, and not at all what I was looking for. Felt like I was drinking grape juice mixed with ink. In fact, a glass of that stuff and it looked like I had indeed been drinking ink. I tried some California stuff that was supposedly “cool climate” in style, and again found mostly fruity extract monsters, with the exception of a 2014 Drew Perli Vineyards which had some of that savor that I’ve been chasing.

So I am curious if you have recommendations. I’d like to keep it below $75/btl or so for now, at least until I get a sense of what it is that I like in Syrah- exploring the N Rhone without a reasonable idea of what you’re doing can get expensive quickly!

Thanks!!!

Hey there Noah!

Domestically, there are a plethora of options, but I’d give some of the Pax wines a try…these are extremely aromatic and savory, quite low alcohol as well. As for Northern Rhone… the Barruol/Lynch collaborations are quite traditional. Tiercerolles is a lovely Crozes-Hermitage, and I had a wonderful experience with their Cote Rotie recently as well. (Can’t recall which bottling…La Boisselee I believe?).

There’s also Faury, also from Kermit Lynch. Their Cote Rotie lines up with your budget well too. Their Rhodaniennes is a spectacular QPR in my opinion as well.

I can give you some domestic options below that price point:

Bedrock Griffin’s
Jaffurs Bien Nacido
Jaffurs Upslope
Piedrasassi
Melville Donna’s
Nicora Russell
Ojai White Hawk
Jaffurs Kimsey

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Care to tell which Crozes-Hermitage and St. Joe you had? Can’t remember ever having a “plodding, extracted, flabby” wine from either of the appellations so I’d love to know which producers are making such crime against Syrah!

You have to be pretty careful with the vintages of late in the Northern Rhône to be sure to get the kind of expression you are describing. I would look for 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016 and go for more traditionally styled producers in Crozes/St. Joseph/Cornas/Côte Rôtie. I suppose the following could be good reference points:

Crozes: Alain Graillot (both the regular and La Guiraude, although the latter requires time in the cellar), Jean-Claude Marsanne
Saint Joseph: Jean-Claude Marsanne, Monier-Perreol
Cornas: Cuchet-Beliando, Franck Balthazar Cornas Chaillot
Côte-Rôtie: Bernard Burgaud, Clusel-Roch Classique (ideally with a bit more age)

Been a while since I’ve had one… but the Delas Crozes Hermitage is fairly rich and polished in its own way. They’re definitely out there. Chapoutier comes to mind as well.

Yes, the big house products tend to be quite rich, polished and oaky - at least Delas, Chapoutier, Jaboulet and Guigal have been. But while they might be the best-known names, I wouldn’t consider them particularly representative of these regions. :smiley: Bar the very top wines, these really aren’t producers I would recommend if one were to dig deeper into the Northern Rhône appellations.

Even then, I’ve never had a Crozes or St. Joe from them that would’ve felt extracted or flabby!

If Halcon wasn’t one of them, you really should give 'em a shot.

Any chance you were drinking 2018’s? If you could give a little more information on producer’s and vintages you found flabby it would be much easier to direct you.

Second this, just opened up a 2018 Halcon Alturas and it was amazing (first time having Halcon). I had the same experience with CA Syrah and stayed away for a longtime but with so many glowing reviews of Halcon I gave it a try and it was well worth it.

I’d suggest getting a bottle each of St. Cosme Crozes-Hermitage and St. Joseph. Taste them side by side and see which profile fits the more savory bill.

While pretty structured and definitely not flabby, the St. Cosme St. Joseph 2013 I’ve had was definitely from the rich and weighty end - which seems to be similar to the St. Cosme overall style, at least compared to many of the Northern Rhône Producers.

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This is a great list for what you asked for, Noah (just a couple of producers here I’m not familiar with, but I am with most and agree with all of those).

I’ll second the Pax suggestion as well. The other domestic producers that come to mind immediately are Edmunds St. John and Qupe. Qupe’s entry level might not have the savory qualities you’re looking for, but Bien Nacido Hillside sure does. Edmunds St. John Syrahs are, I think, exactly what you’re looking for, and ridiculously reasonably priced for the quality.

St. Cosme’s wines can be quite savory, but I would never call them elegant. They’re usually more rustic than I care for, and can be a bit of a bigger style, as was mentioned.

Yea, I’m with Otto on this one, they definitely lean more on the modern and richer side of French syrah. I do not buy them. I once did like 15+ years ago, but felt with the Parker praise on this Chateau/Negotiant, they went further to the right on things. They also started using more pronounced oak, don’t know if they scaled it back it more recent times.

In the OP’s price range, off the top of my head, Faury, Champet, Texier, Levet. And vintage is key, as one poster notes above. Perhaps avoid the really ripe years, like 2018 and 2015, and go toward years like 2014, for that more savory expert. I recently had a 2014 Juge that was as savory of a Rhone as I have ever had, gosh it was increds.

Let’s steer him away from Juge and not give his wallet a heart attack. A few years ago, I’d have suggested Gonon, but prices now make that hard. I’m also not sure I’d recommend Texier as an entree point, as I’ve found a lot of variability in the wines. Lovely when on though.

My suggestions would be Graillot, Gilles Barge or Gilles - all make wines that are, imho, on the more savory side and won’t bust the bank. Maybe try a more recent Lionnet if you want a bit more licorice in your Cornas.

From California: Cabot (and you can get aged vintages)

Agree totally with Halcon Alturas, one of my favorite domestic savory Syrahs. Cabot is that way also.

Mike Smith’s Myriad and Quivet whole cluster Syrahs are this way, but a bit more extracted than the Haclon and Cabot approach. These are a bit more like Cayuse in style. In fact, these savory whole cluster Syrahs are my favorite Mike Smith wines!

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Sandler, and it can be had for a song.

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Oh come on Mr. big shot city lawyer, it is pretty clear from my post that the Juge was just a vintage reference, and the four recommendations I gave are all within his price bracket! I do agree with your point about Texier, But when they are on, they definitely fit the bill. I like Gilles very much but isn’t it getting pricey too?

I’d just steer him away from Juge - I’m not generally a huge fan. neener

Gilles is still around the same price as Levet from my recollection. Though given that I buy Burgundy, it all seems cheap to me. [snort.gif]

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