Syrah la Grande 750ml

Syrah La Grande 2022 is the wine for pepper mills, grill embers and sauces that slowly shine at the edge of the pan. For over 100 years, Syrah has been at home in Valais – and this bottle shows why the variety has found more here than just a new location: it has learned its own dialect between sun, rock and cool nights.

On the nose, spice rises first: black pepper, juniper, violet, olive tapenade, dried herbs and a fine smoky note. Then come blackberry, blackcurrant, black cherry and damson, accompanied by cocoa, a bit of bacon, graphite and a cool stony tension. This does not feel plush, but focused – like Syrah with a sharpened knife.

On the palate, it is dry, powerful and precisely guided. The fruit is ripe and juicy, the acidity keeps it lively, the tannins grip cleanly and give the wine structure. With 13.8% vol., it has presence, but remains taut and agile. Pepper, olive, berry fruit, smoke and mineral freshness draw into a long, spicy finish.

Culinarily, this Syrah pairs well with dishes that have heat, jus, and herbs: lamb with rosemary and olives, entrecôte au poivre, beef cheek in red wine sauce, grilled game sausage, pork rack with herb crust, or aubergine from the embers with yogurt and cumin. It goes particularly well with cheese when there is spice involved: matured alpine cheese, raclette d’alpage with pepper, or hard cheese with olive bread.

Serving suggestion: serve at around 14 °C. A large glass and some air bring out the pepper, olive, smoke, and fruit in the right tension.

A Syrah like a cleanly executed strike with the pepper mill: spicy, precise, powerful – and with a finish so long that even the sauce pauses briefly.