Kayra Versus Syrah Viognier 2013
I have only recently started exploring Kayra wines so they’re not wines that jump out at me when I’m shopping but when I saw this Kayra Versus Syrah Viognier blend I had to have it. A red-white grape blend? What?!
I did some Googling and discovered that this particular blend is not all that unusual. It’s not all that usual either so I suppose it’s more accurate to say that this blend is not unheard of. The tradition of blending Viognier into Syrah has its roots (haha, see what I did there?) in France where the grapes are grown side-by-side in the Côte-Rôtie region of the Northern Rhône Valley. French law allows winemakers to blend up to 20% of Viognier into their Syrahs and still label it as Syrah. The same holds true for Australian Shiraz (although I believe they’re capped at 15%).
So that gives us the history lesson but doesn’t answer the why. Short answer is that Viognier is awesome. The longer answer is that these two grapes are not just grown side-by-side, they’re fermented together. This process will then (theoretically) imbue the Syrah with some of the Viognier’s characteristic aromatic, perfumey nature while also, oddly enough, giving the Syrah a deeper color.
Whatever the reasoning I am entirely behind the theory. I don’t usually care for Syrah but this Versus Syrah Viognier by Kayra blew me away and I’m now on a mission to find and try all available vintages. It will set you back roughly 80 TL a bottle but the Kayra Versus line is quality wine and I don’t think you’ll be sorry.
Kayra Versus Syrah Viognier 2013 Tasting Notes
To me this was a fascinating wine. In the glass it was a dark, inky purple. The most prominent aromas in the nose were red fruits, leather, and tobacco backed by green peppercorn and maybe some camphor.
I really liked the mouth feel of the Versus Syrah Viognier. It ticked all my tannin boxes with nice round, velvety tannins and a fair amount of acid behind them. On the palate of the Versus Syrah Viognier I got a little more black fruits than I did in the nose, specifically blackberries and while the tobacco was still there, like a cigar box actually, the leather was more prominent.
I’ve had this one twice now and have enjoyed it both times. I’m still a little stunned by the red-white wine mix but if this wine is an example of what that kind of blending produces I am on board!