Que syrah, shiraz

Bob Campbell & James Halliday. Photo / Supplied.

There's nothing like a bit of healthy debate to keep things lively. When the setting is the luxurious Cape Kidnappers lodge and the guests include Aussie wine guru James Halliday and Kiwi Master of Wine Bob Campbell battling out the differences between syrah and shiraz it's going to be an event to remember.

The Great Shiraz Challenge takes place on October 24 and sees Halliday lining up five examples of Australian shiraz from Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula to take on Bob Campbell's line-up from New Zealand's Gimbletts Gravel region in the Hawkes Bay. Viva asked the two wine buffs to defend their argument.

Bob Campbell

What makes New Zealand syrah so great?
The best examples are intense, powerful wines with sufficient stature to stand alongside the world's greatest syrah wines.

How does the style of New Zealand syrah differ from that of Aussie shiraz?
Most Aussie shiraz is produced in warmer regions giving soft, rich and rather mellow wine that's often aged in American oak barrels adding an extra chocolate/mocha flavour dimension. New Zealand syrah tends to be brighter and edgier, often with cracked black pepper characters typical of wine grown in cooler regions. Most Kiwi syrah is aged in French oak barrels to give a more subtle, spicier oak influence.

What is the history of syrah in New Zealand?
It seems likely that syrah was among the first vines planted in the Bay of Islands in 1819, however the variety appears to have all but disappeared thanks partly to the active prohibition movement in the early 20th century.

Hawke's Bay winemaker Alan Limmer rescued some syrah cuttings shortly before the Government scrapped its viticultural research station. Limmer sparked a syrah revival when he planted the cuttings in his Gimblett Gravels vineyard in 1984.

There are a fairly miniscule 294 hectares of syrah producing vines. Compare that to the approximately 45,000 hectares of syrah/shiraz vineyards in Australia, and New Zealand doesn't seem to be a serious player. However, the results of a competition called the Tri-Nations Wine Challenge suggests otherwise.

In the seven years the wine show has been operating, New Zealand has won the syrah/shiraz class four times. It's enough to make an Aussie weep.

How have our homegrown syrahs come on in recent years?
While the 800-hectare chunk of rocky Hawke's Bay land called Gimblett Gravels is the most celebrated source of top local syrah, the variety has also performed with distinction in other parts of Hawke's Bay, on Waiheke Island and in Martinborough. Most of the vines derive from Limmer's original cuttings, which seems to have helped the breed. Vine age, a string of good vintages and greater viticulture and winemaking experience have led to a rapid growth in quality, particularly in the past decade.

What's the competition looking like from across the ditch?
Syrah, or "shiraz" as the Aussies call it is Australia's signature wine. They've been making great shiraz for a couple of hundred years, producing it from a wide range of climatic and soil types. Competition couldn't be stronger.

Which country do you predict will win the Great Shiraz Challenge?
New Zealand. Because our wines are likely to be better and the voting audience is dominated by Kiwis.

James Halliday
What makes Australian shiraz so great? Vines up to 160 years (or a little more) of age and winemaking experience with the variety over a similar timeframe.

How does the style of Aussie shiraz differ from New Zealand syrah?
Australian shiraz from traditional regions such as the Clare Valley, Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale are very different, being richer, denser and in some instances (but not necessarily) having higher alcohol. American oak, once the universal choice, is in fast retreat, French oak is advancing, but some producers (Penfolds Grange, for example) using 100 per cent American oak. Shiraz from the cooler regions such as the Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley are much closer in style to that of Hawke's Bay. Shiraz is grown in all 62 official Australian regions, and each produces a different style.

What is the history of shiraz in Australia?
On December 10 1831, James Busby collected 12 cuttings of shiraz (at that time spelt as "scyras") from the best part of the Hill of Hermitage, then known as the greatest part of the Rhone Valley for the variety.

The vines were successfully transported to Australia as part of a massive collection of 570 varieties and were initially propagated in the Botanic Gardens in Sydney, plus cuttings were dispensed to various parts of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. By the second half of the 19th century shiraz was the most widely grown, high quality red grape.

It remains the most widely planted variety in Australia, 43,977 hectares producing 441,950 tonnes in 2008.

How has Australian shiraz developed in recent years?
The two main developments have been the move to French oak, coinciding with the spread of shiraz from warm to cool regions.

What's the competition looking like from across the Tasman?
Which country do you predict will win the Great Shiraz Challenge and why? Hawke's Bay has already beaten the best of Australian shiraz in several of the annual Tri Nations wine competitions, so it will come as no great surprise if Hawke's Bay emerges on top.

* The Great Shiraz Challenge is on Sat October 24, followed by an evening degustation dinner with matched wines, overnight accommodation, breakfast, plus a round of golf or a 50-minute massage. $800/person. Ph (06) 875 1900.