Syrah Archives -

Domaines Ott Le Chateau de Selle Rose 2023 Review – Flavorful Rose

We take wine recommendations from strangers very seriously.

When we were at an agriturismo in Sicily, we met a lovely couple from the south of France that told us their favorite Provencal rose comes from one specific producer- Domaines Ott. They were adamant about it being the best, so much so that we knew we had to find a bottle.

We were lucky to sample it once at a restaurant, and finally stumbled upon a bottle of the Le Chateau de Selle Rose locally and picked it up despite its high price tag. Although we'll be the first to admit that the price we paid was a bit more than we would've preferred, this was quite the tasty rose!

Greece is a wine-lovers paradise, with many delicious varietals to be found all over the mainland and nearby islands. On the island of Crete you may be lucky to find the Kotsifali grape that has limited exports.

We were lucky enough to find a bottle of Alexakis Kotsifali and Syrah blend (60%/40%), and were rather eager to try out as quickly as possible. A new grape paired with one of our all-time favorites? Something told us we were going to like it. And we did.

While this one is a fair bit lighter by most Greek wine standards, for those who want an easy drinking wine that is both fruit-forward and complex, give this one a go.

We always love a good Hermitage, as we're suckers for all Rhone Syrah every chance we can get.

But it is rare that we find an older bottle available at a reasonable price, and we got just that with Cave de Tain Nobles Rives Hermitage 2011. 13 years of age at a reasonable price? We're in!

We always love stumbling upon older bottles in the wild, and when we saw Domaine de Nizas Le Clos from 2013 (over a decade old) available at a local bottle shop, we knew we had to give it a try.

While it is possible that this Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre blend from Languedoc was perhaps past its peak, it still had a great of liveliness in it that made for a delicious pour!

During our exploration of wineries near Seattle, we stumbled upon Latta and immediately fell in love.

First it started with a bottle we picked up at a wine shop to take to dinner. Then we visited the winery the very next day. And now, of course, we are converts and try to enjoy their wines whenever possible.

The Dana Dibble Syrah was one such bottle that made our way into our collection (courtesy of our friends in Seattle who brought it for us as gift knowing how much we like them), and this one hits some great notes for a Rhone-forward style Syrah from Washington!

As lovers of all things Syrah, we have to admit that our access to good bottles from Australia often feels limited. So when we had a chance to pick up a bottle of Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz, with grapes sourced from all over the country (with a Barossa Valley dominance), we had to give it a try.

A hot climate Shiraz with characteristic flavors of the region? We're in for that.

When studying for WSET Diploma, I leaned heavily on rose wine to fully understand how this wine style is made. One method, rose de saignee, was always rather interesting to me as a portion of red grape juice is bled off the skins during soaking. The bled off portion is made into rose wine, and the remaining wine continues maceration on the skins to extract more color and become a red wine.

Compared to other rose winemaking styles (blending and direct press, for example), rose de saignee is often darker style as a result. The intensity of the color is a dead giveaway in most cases, and one region in particular, Tavel in the Southern Rhone (one of our favorite regions), is historically known as a top producer of rose de saignee wine.

So when I stumbled upon a bottle of Chateau de Trinquevedel Tavel in the store, I knew I had to grab it to give a rose de saignee wine a try.

If you love a good Rhone red blend the way I do, you may wonder if any other regions in the world can make a killer blend that would stand up to these famous French wines.

In South Africa, producer A.A. Badenhorst makes a pretty delicious bottle that packs a bit more of a punch than you'd expect thanks to being a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault plus Tinta Barroca and Touriga Nacional for good measure.

This one certainly did not leave us wanting more for complexity!

Normally when you think of Australian Shiraz, you think of big, bold reds with intense flavors.

Shaw + Smith took a bit of a different approach with their Adelaide Hills Shiraz as the cooler climate in this region produced a much more delicate wine that was reminiscent more like a Pinot Noir and Grenache over its bolder Shiraz counterpart.

So if you are into something just a bit different for this grape (particularly lighter characteristics), this one is for you.

When we traveled to Mexico City in early 2022, we were not terribly excited at the wine options we had at the bars.

But before we left, we went to a high-end wine shop and found some of the highest rated bottles we could find and bought them to enjoy at home later on. Casa Madero's Gran Reserva Shiraz 2017 was one such bottle, and while we think this one could still use a few more years, it was a lovely bottle to pair with a roast all the same.

Domaines Ott Le Chateau de Selle Rose 2023 Review – Flavorful Rose

Alexakis Kotsifali Syrah 2018 Review – Flavorful Cretan Red

Cave de Tain Nobles Rives Hermitage 2011 Review – Aged Syrah

Domaine de Nizas Le Clos 2013 Review – A Beautiful Aged Wine

Latta Syrah Dana Dibble 2018 – A Robust Washington Syrah

Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz 2021 Review – Intense Australian

Chateau de Trinquevedel Tavel 2021 Review – A Beautiful Rose

A.A. Badenhorst Red Blend 2019 Review – Powerful Red

Shaw + Smith Shiraz 2019 Review – A Lighter Australian Shiraz

Casa Madero Gran Reserva Shiraz 2017 Review – Intense Mexican Red