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Shiraz-Mataro or Syrah-Mourvèdre?
The names can sometimes have much more significance that we ever imagine. Behind a name, there is the philosophy of the person who chooses it. Often behind the chosen name, hide the knowledge of the person who found it as well as his experiences and general beliefs.
The issue today is the names of the international varieties cultivated on the island. Most foreign varieties that were imported here some decades ago with the intention to support the production of fine quality wines are of French origin. They are wine grapes known more or less to all, names widely known to the wine world: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Merlot, Mourvèdre, Cinsaut etc.
Some of the above were established in our country by their synonyms that the countries of the New World use. The Syrah, for example, was established as Shiraz, an Australian synonym of the variety. The Mourvèdre gave up his name to Mataro, also of the New World and the Cinsaut became Oeillade and so on. Is there a more profound ground behind the selection of Shiraz in the place of Syrah? Does the prevalence of Mataro against Mourvèdre reveal anything?
Superficially thinking, some would say that there is no reason for discussion since a name is just a name, nothing more. Personally, however, I believe that behind the selection of a wine name there is a whole philosophy or an unprecedented ignorance. You see, Syrah represents the French vinification philosophy, which puts the vineyard and the wider ecosystem (terroir) in a prevailing place. For the French producer, Syrah is part of what we call Hermitage or Côte-Rôtie, while for the Australian Shiraz is just a Shiraz, a good tool to be used, endowed grapes that can give deep-coloured wines with a fruity aromas and rich, soft and thick at the same time taste. For the Australian wine producer, Shiraz is a self-sufficient concept, whereas for the French is incomplete and acquires its self-efficiency only in connection with the soil and climatic conditions of the famous vineyards of northern Rhône. In Australia, nothing is superior to the variety and its name on the label, while in France nothing can surpass the terroir itself, part of which is the variety. That is why the print of the name of the variety on a Hermitage or a Côte-Rôtie is still considered a crime of high treason.
As far as Mourvèdre that became Mataro is concerned, I quote in free translation two lines from the book ‘Guide to Wine Grapes’ by Jancis Robinson: ‘As a rule, whoever refers to Mourvèdre with the name Mataro does not have a particular good opinion about the specific variety’. As for the Oeillade, she writes: ‘it is a non frequent synonym of Cinsaut that is mainly used when the variety is sold as table grapes…’
If we know the semantic difference between Syrah and Shiraz, Mourvèdre and Mataro and we insist on our choices, then it follows that we have purely New World orientation, something that is not reprehensible, even if I personally disagree. If though, we insist on the currently used names without knowing the semantic and vinification difference between them, then it is better to abstain from their vinification.
22/11/2009
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