Wine
red full
Established
Syrah / Shiraz
Peppery, full-bodied red wine. Northern Rhône (Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage), Languedoc, Barossa Shiraz, Washington Syrah.
Category
Wine
Subcategory
Red Full
Significance
Established
Best-with milks
cow, sheep
Best-with cheeses
washed rind, hard aged, blue-veined
Editorial note
Northern Rhône Syrah and Australian Shiraz are stylistically very different wines from the same grape — Northern Rhône is leaner/peppery, Australia is fruitier/sweeter. Both pair with cheese but match different categories.
Pairing principle
Peppery spice + structured tannin = match for assertive cheeses. The wine's black-pepper and game notes hold up against strong washed-rind and aged hard cheeses where Pinot Noir loses.
Why it works
Northern Rhône Syrah's black-pepper aromatics (literally rotundone, the molecule that makes black pepper smell like black pepper) survive aggressive cheese flavors. The fuller body and more assertive tannin structure than Pinot Noir handles washed-rind and pasted aged cheeses better than gentler reds. Australian Shiraz adds fruit sweetness that handles blue cheese in the way Pinot Noir cannot.
Classic pairings
- Taleggio + Northern Rhône Syrah
- Aged Pecorino + Sicilian Nero d'Avola (Sicilian Syrah cousin)
- Manchego + Spanish Shiraz
- Strong washed-rinds + Côte-Rôtie
- Bleu d'Auvergne + Australian Shiraz (sweet-fruit balance)
Contemporary recommendations
- Idiazabal + Sonoma Syrah
- Aged sheep cheeses + Washington Syrah
- Rogue River Blue + late-harvest Shiraz
Serving
Service details
Serve at 16-18°C. Modern over-extracted Shiraz benefits from decanting.
Avoid with
- Delicate bloomy-rinds (wine dominates)
- Fresh cheeses
- Goat cheese