Chacun Son Vin - Awards - 2022 NWAC Syrah/Shiraz

Results of the 2022 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)

Syrah/Shiraz

Category Overview by judge Geoffrey Moss, MW

Syrah is responsible for some of the most exciting wines in Canada and that’s reflected in this year’s results, with four platinum and 14 gold medals. The Syrah flights are a joy to taste, not just because of the incredible highs but also the consistent quality. Across Canada, the story is evolving. It’s no longer about the potential of Syrah. Canadian Syrah has rightfully earned its reputation – not just coast-to-coast, but internationally as well – and the top wines are highly sought after.

(Jump straight to the medal winners.)

Year-in and year-out, Syrah is arguably the top-performing red grape variety in the Okanagan and Similkameen. 83 percent of this year’s Syrah medal winners come from British Columbia, which is indicative of the province’s ability to produce world-class Syrah. The wines often show a combination of ripe, lush dark fruits balanced with the variety’s inherent savoury qualities. It makes for wines that are captivatingly complex, and that still manage to retain their freshness even after long, warm summer days.

CedarCreek and Mission Hill’s platinum medal Syrahs, both from Jagged Rock Vineyard and the spectacular 2020 vintage, show the opulent ripeness expected from the Black Sage Bench, bursting with fruit and lifted by floral aromatics and desert sagebrush. Across the valley on the Golden Mile Bench, on sandy soils interwoven with gravel, La Frenz’s platinum 2019 Syrah from Rockyfeller Vineyard is juicy and elegant, with peppery spice.

Other gold medal winners show that exceptional Syrah can truly be found throughout the Okanagan and Similkameen. Painted Rock’s 2019 Syrah comes from their estate vineyard on Skaha Bench, a relatively new sub-GI in the Okanagan overlooking Skaha Lake. And Lake Breeze’s 2018 Mistral Syrah is sourced further north from the well-travelled Naramata Bench. Or there’s the neighbouring Similkameen Valley, with highlights like Corcelette’s 2019 Syrah from Keremeos’ Upper Bench.

There’s also more focus on site, and single vineyard bottlings represent a number of the top wines. Look no further than Rust Wine Co. and their collection of single vineyard Syrahs, which includes their 2019 South Rock Vineyard Syrah.

In Niagara, the ripeness may be dialled back, but the wines are no less compelling. They’re more often red-fruited and intensely savoury, with outstanding freshness and purity. This is beautifully illustrated by the spicy, meaty platinum-winning 13th Street Reserve Syrah, as well as the gold medal wines from Stratus and Trius. It leaves you wanting more (just 592 tons of Syrah were processed in Ontario in 2021), but the real challenge is the variety’s cold hardiness. It thrives on the warm sites in part because it survives on the warm sites.

Whether from British Columbia or Ontario, we see Syrah in a multitude of expressions. Most importantly, what often comes through is a true sense of place. The wines are not Rhône-styled. They are not Barossa-styled. They’re uniquely Okanagan, Similkameen, and Niagara – each identifiably its own.

And the winners are…

13th Street 2020 Reserve Syrah, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
CedarCreek Platinum 2020 Jagged Rock Syrah, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
La Frenz 2019 Syrah Rockyfeller Vineyard, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mission Hill 2020 Terroir Collection Jagged Rock Syrah, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

Blasted Church 2018 Syrah, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Bordertown 2019 Syrah, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Corcelettes 2019 Syrah, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
Indigenous World 2018 Single Vineyard Syrah, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Lake Breeze 2018 Cellar Series Mistral, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Laughing Stock 2019 Syrah, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mt. Boucherie 2019 Reserve Syrah, British Columbia
Nk’Mip Cellars 2019 Qwam Qwmt Syrah, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Painted Rock 2019 Syrah, Skaha Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Road 13 Jackpot Syrah 2019, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Rust Wine Co. 2019 Syrah South Rock Vineyard, Golden Mile Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Stratus 2019 Syrah, Niagara Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
Tinhorn Creek 2019 Oldfield Reserve Syrah, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Trius 2020 Reserve Syrah, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario