THE stages of the wine’s production are mapped out on the label, with a 36-month lunar calendar marking the journey from bud-burst to bottling.

WHY it is called syrah in France and shiraz in Australia and South Africa (except for examples made in the Rhône style) is not quite clear. Still, there are stories about the grape’s two names. One links it to the Persian city of Shiraz, fueling speculation that a Crusader had brought the grape to France. Another account tells of the Roman emperor Probus, who brought the grape to France from Syracuse, a city in Sicily. And then there was James Busby, the Scottish viticulturist who brought the grape to Australia from the Rhône Valley in 1832.  He preferred the name “scyras,” as the grape was then called, which some say became “shiraz” in the long run.

But what is undisputed, though, is that syrah/shiraz is one of the greatest of the red grape varieties, capable of turning out wines that can age magnificently for decades. Though France’s northern Rhône Valley is considered its ancestral home (where it has been cultivated since Roman times), the grape’s popularity as shiraz owes to its tremendous success in Australia, where it is the most widely planted grape. Indeed, Australia has made shiraz its premium grape and fashioned it into a wine uniquely its own, with styles that vary from the lush, plum-y, chocolate-y wines made for immediate drinking, to the intense, long-lived complex reds filled with fruit and spice. A recent tasting hosted by Tyrrell’s Wines and Werdenberg Corp. presented the opportunity to discover the nuances of Australian shiraz. There were 15 examples from Tyrrell’s portfolio representing the range of styles and grape varieties from its different vineyards, but after priming my taste buds with the popular Premium Brut (fruit-filled with a subtle, biscuit-y characteristic) and the new release of the Old Winery Semillon Sauvignon Blanc (floral notes and fresh, lively zingy citrus flavors), I made for the Rufus Stone shiraz at the end of the table.

Tyrrell’s Wines, family-owned since 1858 (and celebrating its 150th anniversary this year), began operations in the Hunter Valley, then spread out into McLaren Vale, Limestone Coast and Heathcote in Central Victoria. With vineyards in Australia’s prime wine-growing regions, its product portfolio covers the varied expressions of grape varieties grown on different soils and in different climates. The shiraz of Tyrrell’s tell that story. Take the Rufus Stone series, grown on vineyards outside the Hunter Valley. The Rufus Stone shiraz from McLaren Vale has lush, black fruit flavors laced with black pepper, and a long, chocolate-y finish, making for a powerful, full-flavored style. I found the Rufus Stone Heathcote shiraz no less powerful but more elegant, with softer tannins binding complex layers of intense black fruit, leather, mocha and spice.

Two dissimilar wines made from the same grape—because of location, soil, climate and winemaking—Heathcote in Central Victoria is cooler than McLaren Vale, explained Nick Bath, Tyrrell’s Wines’ International Manager for Canada and the Asia-Pacific. In Heathcote, the Mount Camel Range runs north to south, providing a natural tunnel for the cool winds that prevail during the growing season. Though McLaren Vale is near the ocean, changes in altitude as the land merges with the hills make for climatic variations within the region. Here, a vineyard at the base of the Mount Lofty Ranges produces fruit from 35-year-old shiraz vines that go exclusively into Rufus Stone. Concentrated fruit from low-yielding old vines make for powerful wines. The soil is clay loam in McLaren Vale; red clay in the Heathcote vineyard. And then there is the use of oak. French or American oak? Old barrel or new? Big or small barrel? And for how long in the barrel?

For the DB 24, the newly released Tyrrell’s shiraz, the wine is fermented in large potter tanks, then in new French oak. After 12 months, the wine is again transferred into new French barriques, hence the name DB 24—for the 12 months each that the wine spent in new oak. This is an unorthodox oak regime that makes for a powerful yet elegant wine, Mr. Bath pointed out.

So which shiraz did you like best? The question floated around the roomful of tasters. Is it power and strength over subtlety and finesse? Isn’t it easier to spot big and bold—and therefore easier to appreciate it, too?  Aren’t context and circumstance also part of the equation in liking wine? The divide over what is good or bad or pleasurable always arises over the subject of wine. And the diverse opinions make the discussion—and the drinking—all the more interesting.

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