OKANAGAN SHIRAZ

The week-long celebration of the grape (and the crowd it attracts) provides a great opportunity to nab well-known international producers to taste with, and it's become something of a custom to assess B.C. wines. Last year an eclectic panel of winemakers from Portugal (Christiano van Zeller), New Zealand (Bill Spence) and Spain (Javier Hildago) had some favourable things to say about B.C.'s blended reds, enjoying their youthful fervour although wondering why we North Americans are in such a rush to drink them. For today's tasting we turned to a pair of visiting French wine guys, Jean-Pierre Perrin and his son Thomas. The Perrin family are the noted producers of Château de Beaucastel, one of the great labels of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, along with a wide variety of other wines from all across the Rhone Valley. Thomas Perrin represents the sixth generation at Beaucastel, which 150 years ago was a modest hunting rendezvous "where there were no grapes and wine, only wild boars." Given the Rhone Valley's suitability for growing syrah and B.C. consumers' newly blossomed love affair with its B.C. version (or shiraz, as it may be labelled), the Perrins seemed a likely duo to help critique a variety that many think has a bright future in the south Okanagan. I also invited David Scholefield, European portfolio manager for B.C. liquor stores, and Wine Access taster Stuart Tobe to join in, just for a little balance. Here are their verdicts: The Burrowing Owl Syrah spends 13 months divided 75-25 between French and American oak, of which 37 per cent is new. Jean-Pierre Perrin found it very expressive, but in an over-the-top way. He found the tannins unripe, the flavours coarse and the wine generally lacking in elegance. Syrah should have a ripe-jam character, he says, and not simply taste of wood. That was a dose of tough love for a wine others agreed was better on the nose than on the palate, showing exotic aromas evoking white pepper, Tahitian vanilla and roasted coffee beans, but finishing with dry, green tannins. The Sandhill Small Lots Syrah (made by Calona winemaker Howard Soon) received a much more favourable review, based on the principle that less is more. Both Frenchmen liked it, with the younger Perrin suggesting "it's a wine with a bright future." Inky and bloody were favourable descriptors, while the elder Perrin suggested: "It's trying to be friendly or meant to be pleasing." I found the fruit to be subdued at best, with plenty of vanilla and sweet-buttered oak flavours in the finish. Everyone agreed it was a better candidate to serve with food than the Burrowing Owl. Our third wine was a ringer. Coudoulet de Beaucastel, a Côtes du Rhône blend of 30 per cent each of mourvèdre and grenache, and 20 each of cinsault and syrah, is made by the Perrin family. No one was fooled at the blind tasting. "I think this one is very good," smiled Jean-Pierre. The rest of the panel nodded. Scholefield liked its jammy, ripe, red-berry fruit flavours and rather exotic whiff of wild honey in the nose. Thomas Perrin added: "The wine is not yet ready to drink," suggesting an optimum drinking window of five to seven years from its 1999 vintage. I wasn't as fond of the pruny, slightly oxidative nose, but the Perrins assured me it's a stage the wine passes through after bottling, and the fruit will reappear in another six months. The Mission Hill Syrah drew praise for its beginning, showing some raspberry/strawberry/gamy fruit, but both visiting tasters backed away from the aggressive, minty, French oak nose. Thomas Perrin describe the nose as having an "After Eight" mint chocolate flavour. His father simply said: "Too much nose, and at the finish there is no promise for the future." I liked the minty, exotic, earthy-pepper character and agree it's aggressive. But for young vines, and as a first attempt, it shows promise. The Mission Hill Shiraz is made with American oak to effect an Australian style. There's pepper, smoky oak, black cherry, spice and vanilla in the nose, although it's less jammy on the palate than one might expect, with lean, dry tannins in the finish. Jean-Pierre had it pegged: "An Australian shiraz style here, with lots of American wood, but it's not to my taste." Tasters from this side of the Atlantic found it fruit-deficient, although the wine is drinkable and will appeal to certain fans of the style. The final wine had Jean-Pierre Perrin smiling and saying "I pass," obviously overwhelmed by the oak in the Jackson-Triggs Shiraz. "Coffee, vanilla and sweet fruit," said Thomas, characters the French are convinced appeal to North Americans, but that have little to do with Rhone wines. "I can't imagine drinking this wine with food," said Jean-Pierre, trying to find the words to say "too much of everything and not enough elegance." It wasn't the easiest tasting I've conducted this year, but it demonstrates how diverse the world is when it comes to making and tasting wine. We completed the session with a sample of syrah made by the Perrins that will end up in their 2001 Reserve Perrin blend. The wine was dark, rich and extremely jammy. It had both depth and persistence on the palate, and a fine fruity richness in the finish. And it never touched wood! Sun wine columnist Anthony Gismondi is also co-host of The Best of Food and Wine, which airs at noon each Saturday on CFUN 1410 AM. OKANAGAN VALLEY SYRAH/SHIRAZ Producer: Burrowing Owl 2000 Syrah Price: $24.90 *** Stock No.: 608828 Score: 13/20 Comments: Highly expressive, oaky. Producer: Sandhill (small lots program) 2000 Syrah Phantom Creek Vineyard Price: $24.95 * Stock No.: 607333 Score: 14.5/20 Comments: Pleasant, easy sipping. Producer: Coudoulet de Beaucastel 1999, Côtes du Rhône, France Price: $27 Stock No.: 973222 Score: 15.5/20 Comments: Ripe, jammy, soft. Producer: Mission Hill 1999 Syrah Price: $29.90 ** Stock No.: 556332 Score: 13.5/20 Comments: Sweet, minty nose; dry finish. Producer: Mission Hill 1999 Shiraz Reserve Price: $17.95 ** Stock No.: 585778 Score: 12.5/20 Comments: Okay; spicy dill favours. Producer: Jackson-Triggs 2000 Shiraz Proprietor's Reserve Price: $14.95 * Stock No.: 593103 Score: 12/20 Comments: Sweet oak. * Restaurants only ** Selected B.C. specialty stores, private wine shops, restaurants *** winery, selected private wine shops and restaurants