Terraces of vineyards in the French wine region of Cote Rotie in the northern Rhone Valley. Photo / Wikimedia Commons image posted by user Karen
Syrah is the current darling of the New Zealand wine industry, with Hawkes Bay and Waiheke Island leading the charge. So it's fascinating to check out some of France's very best to see whether there are any similarities or surprises.
Two of France's top producers are Chave and Jamet, from
the northern Rhone. The former is from the appellation known as Hermitage, the latter Cote Rotie (literally translated "the roasted hillside") where grapes grow on some of Europe's most precarious steep slopes - up to a 55-degree gradient in some spots. Viticulture goes back more then 2000 years here, yet by the late 1950s there were only 48ha planted. However, the world's growing interest in wine has seen a resurgence of plantings and today there are around 202ha, producing more than 80,000 cases of wine.
It's here that Jean-Paul and Jean-Luc Jamet have vines divided up into 26 different parcels, from which they produce wines that are opulent, rich, concentrated and powerful. It's a no-compromise approach to production, very low yields in the vineyard and traditional handling in the cellar.
The wines of Cote Rotie are regarded as more feminine than those of Hermitage.
At Hermitage the wines are often among the most majestically proportioned reds made anywhere in France. Huge and full-on, it is syrah on steroids, with tannins and extract to spare and requiring the best part of a decade to relax and begin to unwind. These are wines that can be cellared for years and you will be suitably rewarded for such patience.
