Grape variety
Syrah
Syrah: the Rhône grape grown in Valais since 1921. Origin, pepper and spice in the glass, where it grows in Switzerland and what to eat with it.
- Colour
- Red
- Origin
- Northern Rhône; a natural cross of Dureza and Mondeuse Blanche
- Grown in Switzerland
- About 210 hectares, over 80 per cent of them in Valais
- Typical aromas
- Black pepper, clove, blackberry, violet
- Classic pairing
- Leg of lamb with herbs, grilled meat, game stew
- Synonym
- Shiraz (Australia, South Africa)
Syrah is the great red grape of the northern Rhône, the variety behind Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie and Cornas. DNA analysis has settled its parentage: it is a natural cross of Dureza from the Ardèche and Mondeuse Blanche from Savoie, a true child of the country between Lyon and Valence. It is first recorded in 1781 in the vineyard of Hermitage. From there it travelled the world, to Australia as Shiraz, and in the 1920s up the Rhône into Valais.
Syrah reached Switzerland in 1921, when the Valais agronomist Henry Wuilloud brought cuttings back from Tain-l’Hermitage, which were planted at the Domaine de l’Etat in Leytron; the first harvest followed in 1925. For decades it stayed a rarity of a few dozen hectares. Since then the area has grown strongly to about 210 hectares, more than 80 per cent of it in Valais, the rest mainly in Vaud and Geneva. The dry, hot, Föhn-swept Rhône valley between Martigny and Sierre suits this late-ripening grape perfectly, because the fruit ripens there even in cooler years.
Valais Syrah is deep purple with firm but ripe tannins. The nose shows black pepper, clove, blackberry and violet, sometimes a smoky, bacon-like note as in Côte-Rôtie. Depending on site and cellar work the range runs from juicy and fruity to dense and spicy; the best wines are aged in barrique and keep for five to ten years or longer. In cool vintages the grape reminds you that Valais lies at the northern limit of Syrah growing: it turns peppery and lean rather than opulent, which is exactly what many drinkers like about it.
Syrah goes with anything from the grill or the braising pot: leg of lamb with herbs, entrecôte, game stew in autumn, but also Valais dried meat and a piece of aged alpine cheese. Serve it slightly cool, at 16 to 18 degrees; young, powerful wines gain from an hour in a decanter.
To explore the grape, start in the villages between Chamoson, Leytron, Fully and Sion, where many estates bottle a single-varietal Syrah. In Valais it also plays a part in blends with Cornalin, Humagne Rouge or Merlot. It is increasingly planted in the best sites of La Côte, Lavaux and Geneva, usually as a small, carefully made speciality.