Mayu Selected Vineyards Syrah 2008

I was pleased to see this on offer from Waitrose. I am a big fan of Chilean Syrah, and quite frankly we don't see enough of it in the shops.

Mayu's Reserva bottling is frequently bandied about as a 5 star wine, and it's dirt cheap as well (I think it's around £12 if you can find it). It looks like I didn't give it a particularly great review (3/5) but I remember it being good at least. Some of the more recent Syrah I've had from Chile has made more of an impression though.

Either way this was worth trying and I did like it. Chilean Syrah has it's own character. Yes it has the pepper and spice and all that, but it also has a sharp, almost sour (in a good, savoury way) character to it that I always recognize, and it immediately makes my mouth water. It can be a bit rich - it's good for slow sipping. It has some chocolate notes as well which makes chocolate the first food match to come to mind when trying to pair a particularly rich example.

As far as this example goes, I think it's a good wine at a good price and would recommend stocking up before Feb. 15th when the offer ends.

Mayu

Selected Vineyards Syrah 2008

Elqui Valley, Chile

Waitrose

£6.99 (£9.49)

3/5

Chateau Maris Organic Syrah 2007

Waitrose is running their French Wine Showcase at the moment, where a selection of French wines are being sold at 25% off. I went in to see what was available, and there are a few interesting ones - notably a few from the Languedoc.

This is actually a Syrah/Grenache blend, from the biodynamic estate Chateau Maris. It's claimed on the website that this is from the Minervois AOC, but it's labelled as Vin de Pays d'Oc. I guess this blend doesn't satisfy AOC regulations, which is absolutely fine.

There is a lot of wine here for the price. It's very fruity, lots of alcohol (15%), a bit grapey (their website includes ' stewed fruit' in their tasting notes - accurate I'd say), but backed up by some good tannins. It's obviously a warm-climate wine and it's really enjoyable. I'd say it's the first red I've enjoyed for a while (although I've hardly been drinking any reds recently). My budget is tight these days, but maybe I can squeeze in a couple more of these.

Chateau Maris

Organic Syrah 2007 Vin de Pays d'Oc

Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Waitrose

£6.74 (£8.99)

3.5/5

The Society's Chilean Syrah 2007

I'm becoming a fan of Chilean Syrah, especially from the northern Limari and Elqui valleys. It's more Rhone than Aussie Shiraz, and even at ridiculously low prices you get powerful, concentrated, characterful wines.

This example is from the Elqui Valley, and at £6.50 is a steal. It's a bit rougher around the edges than say the Maycas del Limari offering, but it's quite good, especially for this price.

Cliché tasting notes of these wines include black pepper and meat. I'm not sure I get that with this one, but I get what I think is a typical 'dark fruit' type character. Although these wines are 100% Syrah they remind me of southern Rhone wines from Lirac and Chateauneuf-du-Pape (which include Grenache among other things). Perhaps it's the high alcohol and ripe fruit. Either way, Chilean Syrah is good, and it's a new favourite of mine.

The Society's Chilean Syrah 2007

Elqui Valley, Chile

The Wine Society

£6.50

3/5

Vidal Syrah 2007

Not much to say on this one, besides that it's yet another good value wine from Waitrose. At 25% off, you get a Syrah with good fruit and structure for under £8. I'm getting into Syrah lately, with good examples from Chile getting my attention as well. It's interesting because I've so far not been enamoured with French Syrah (i.e. northern Rhone). Perhaps my budget is too tight to enjoy more than on-offer Crozes-Hermitage...

Apparently this is made in the Gimblett Gravels region of Hawkes Bay, which is a region to keep an eye on for New Zealand reds.

Vidal

Syrah 2007

Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Waitrose

£7.49 (£9.99)

3/5

Maycas del Limari Syrah 2007

If anyone's disappointed with the premature end of the Sainsbury's Taste the Difference sale, then perhaps there's an alternative. This great value Chilean Syrah is on offer as well.

Again, I can't be too accurate with the price, as I have this bad (or good) habit of throwing out junk, including receipts. I can't stand clutter, and I always figure I can just look up the price online. But this was from my Sainsbury's fine wine section, and it's not available online, nor does it appear on any of the supermarket offer sites.

It's normally somewhere between £8 and £9 at various places, but it was on for £6-something at my Sainsbury's. It's also currently on for 18% off at Tesco online, where it's also apparently a 'non-vintage' wine. Come on Tesco - how hard is this?

Various wine writers were recommending this as far back as 2008, and I can see why. It has good structure, intense flavour and a nice, long complex finish. A bit of chocolate and mint character for those who need notes. Syrah from the Limari Valley (and Elqui Valley) are impressive and affordable. This bottle would have been good value at full price, never mind the discount.

UPDATE: It's on for £6.74 and is regularly £8.99.

Concha y Toro

Maycas del Limari Syrah 2007

Limari Valley, Chile

Sainsbury's

£6.74 (£8.99)

4/5

Cave de Tain Les Hauts de Pavieres Crozes-Hermitage 2007

Cave de Tain Crozes-Hermitage used to be a bit of a favourite around here a few years ago, and then for whatever reason fell off the radar. Sainsbury's offers a Cave de Tain bottling, and we used to pick it up whenever it was on offer. I think the last time I had it didn't really enjoy it for whatever reason, perhaps my tastes have moved on.

Come to think of it, I can't really remember the last time I really enjoyed a red from the Northern Rhone. I find the wines quite lean, which in itself is fine, but they also seem to lack fruit. This example is no different. The peppery Syrah notes are there (it's made from 100% Syrah), and it has good acidity and some minerally, gravelly notes. It's a fine food wine actually, but I wouldn't say it's one of my favourite regions. Good if this is your thing.

Cave de Tain

Les Hauts de Pavieres Crozes-Hermitage 2007

Rhone Valley, France

Waitrose

£7.99 (£9.99)

3/5

Vina Mayu Reserve Syrah 2006

This wine was awarded 5 stars in the June 2009 edition of Decanter magazine.  Oddly though, the Chilean Syrah tasting that gave us this result was divided in to 3 price points: under £10, £10 - £20, and over £20.  This is unusual (at least I've never seen it before), and what it means is that a wine in the sub £10 category such as this one that scored 5 stars, is not of the same quality as one that scored 5 stars in one of the other categories. Basically what they're saying is that this wine is probably the best it can be for its price point.  I'm not sure I like this - as you can't really get a picture of where one particular wine lies in the quality stakes relative to the other ones, except the ones sharing the same price point category.

Anyways, the Elqui valley is Chile's most northerly (and highest) wine region and has garnered much attention recently for its cool-climate Syrah.  Not really knowing what to expect, I decided to buy a few bottles a) because of the Decanter result and b) because it also happened to be on offer at Majestic.

It's pretty good.  I didn't think it was massively similar to its Rhone counterpart - it's very obviously New World, and it's obviously Chilean as well.  There is a character in Chilean wines, a   kind of green peppery note, that betrays their origin.  It's not unpleasant or anything though, it's just sort of "there".  The wine has a lot of "sweet", ripe fruit character, and if it wasn't for the peppery (now I'm talking black pepper) finish, I could mistake it for a Cabernet Sauvignon rather than a Syrah.

I paid £7.99 for it, and I'm not sure I would pay the full price of £9.99.  I was also drinking it outdoors at a BBQ, and I find that wine can seem different in that sort of situation.   I have a few more bottles of it to try, but for now I think "pretty good" is a decent assessment. 

Vina Mayu

Syrah Rerserva 2006

Elqui Valley, Chile

Majestic

£7.99 (£9.99)

3/5

Boekenhoutskloof Porcupine Ridge Syrah 2007

This month's issue of Decanter featured a South African Syrah tasting. Conveniently Porcupine Ridge, the winner of the "Best Value" award, is available at my local Waitrose.

I was very keen to try this, as I've been meaning to try more South African wines. This particular wine was very deserving of the Best Value award, at only £6.99. Most of the other wines were well over £10. I enjoyed it as well, it has some peculiar aromas and flavours - notably burnt rubber or wood, and I'm not sure if this is characteristic of the grape, the country, or the oak. I've heard cases for all three, especially the country. However, it's not at all unpleasant, and on the palate disappears into a deep, complex fruity mouthful. Good stuff.

Boekenhoutskloof
Porcupine Ridge Syrah 2007
Franschhoek, South Africa
Waitrose
£6.99
3.5/5