Discover our Passel Estate Syrah from Margaret River

Elegant, spice-driven, and crafted in small volumes, the Passel Estate Syrah captures the finesse and vibrancy that define Margaret River’s gentler style of Syrah (or Shiraz). With red fruit, floral lift, and silky tannins, this release is a showcase of the Margaret River region’s growing reputation for world-class Syrah.

Current Release: 2022 Syrah

Shop our 2022 Syrah
Price: $43 per bottle (750ml)

Vintage Notes

Mild rains re-charged our groundwater reserves for the growing season, which was warm and dry. The sustained warm conditions dried the soils quickly, allowing early control of vegetive vine growth. The vines responded with smaller berry sizes, which led to lower yields with greater concentration of flavours. Idyllic warm days and cool nights prevailed through the ripening season to harvest, allowing for outstanding flavour development and excellent retention of succulent natural acidity. The wines are characterised by excellent fruit purity and aromatics, the red wines boast super polished and fine tannins. Another elegant and beautiful vintage in Margaret River.

Winemaking Notes

Picked in the early hours of the morning, our Syrah fruit was destemmed directly to the fermentors as whole berries, resulting in slower and more controlled extraction of tannin and greater retention of fruit based aromatics. A cool ferment on skins for 14 days was followed by a gentle pressing straight to barrel. The wine was matured for 10 months in a combination of French Oak barriques and larger format puncheons, 30% of which were new, and underwent bâttonage every 5-6 weeks.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Dark purple with red and blue flecks.
Bouquet: White pepper, allspice, cured meats and red plums, hints of rosewater and raspberries.
Palate: Focused and tense, boasting fine lines of red fruit tannin, laced together by flavours of black and green peppercorns, glazed plums and blackberries. The finish is textured and flavoursome, revealing yet more layers of summer berries and Eastern spices.

Food Pairing Suggestions:

This cooler climate Australian Syrah is wonderfully versatile at the table:

– Perfect with chargrilled lamb cutlets or venison.
– Complements mushroom risotto, roasted eggplant, or spiced lentil dishes.
– Delicious with hard cheeses such as Manchego or aged Cheddar that we occasionally include in our Classical Wine & Cheese Tasting experience.

Cellaring & Serving Suggestions

The 2022 Passel Estate Syrah can be enjoyed now for its lifted fruit and spice aromatics, or cellared to allow more savoury depth to develop.

Serving temperature: 16–18°C
Cellaring potential: Medium-term aging will reveal layers of savoury spice and earthy complexity, making it an excellent choice for collectors who enjoy an aged Syrah.

Awards & Reviews

Here are a selection of awards and critical praise for the 2022 Passel Estate Syrah:

96 Points, Ray Jordan, WA Wine Review 2027:  “More proof, if proof were needed, that Margaret River can produce high class shiraz, syrah, when the seasons are right. ’22 was one of those years, and this is an excellent example of Margaret River syrah. It is a totally seamless, velvety smooth, and beautifully composed wine that draws together the spicy, plummy, dark chocolate fruit intensity with the support of some fine grained, gently applied oak and fine natural tannins. I wondered whether it should be called syrah, but then I tasted it and absolutely, it’s a very modern, stylish, refined expression of Australian shiraz and a bit of a revelation from Margaret River.”

Silver medal, International Wine Challenge 2026

Silver medal, Decanter World Wine Awards 2026

92 Points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review: “Full ruby colour, bright in the glass. Mulberry, river stone and nori aromas. Full and weighty with dark fruit core, iodine and wakame notes and granite minerality. Great length driven by stone tannins, finishing dry.”

Choose Margaret River Syrah: An Emerging Classic

While Margaret River is world-renowned for its Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, the region is increasingly recognised for producing some of the best cooler climate Syrahs in Australia. The maritime climate and gravelly loam soils lend themselves to a more elegant, spice-driven style of Syrah (or Shiraz) compared to the richer, bolder expressions found in warmer Australian regions.

Here, Syrah often shows vibrant red fruit, peppery spice, and floral lift, supported by fine tannins and savoury complexity. These characteristics make Margaret River Syrah exceptionally food-friendly, with the finesse to accompany refined dishes while still carrying enough depth for heartier pairings.

At Passel Estate, our boutique Australian Syrah is crafted from our carefully managed, old vines to capture the purity of fruit and natural acidity. Each vintage reflects the balance of power and elegance that has seen our Syrah gain global recognition among wine critics, collectors, and wine lovers alike.

“This little vineyard has emerged as one of the best in Margaret River for syrah. The wines always show excellent fruit intensity and balance.”  Ray Jordan, The WA Wine Review 2025

As the first vintage from Passel Estate marking our transition to labelling our Shiraz as Syrah (to better reflect the gentler style of wine we produce), the 2022 Syrah shows how far the region has come in producing elegant, complex Shiraz and Syrah.

This wine is a fine example of an elegant Australian Syrah with lifted aromatics, silky tannins, and savoury depth. Whether enjoyed now, cellared, or gifted, it offers exceptional value and pedigree.

What is the difference between Shiraz and Syrah?

We made the decision to now label our wines as Syrah rather than Shiraz to more accurately portray the stylistic intent behind the wine. While both names refer to the same grape variety, Syrah is often associated with a more refined, classical and elegant expression, which closely aligns with our winemaking philosophy and the terroir of our Margaret River vineyard.

The change is about more than just a name on the label. It signals the style, balance and identity we want our wines to communicate from the very first glance.

To learn more about the history behind Syrah vs Shiraz, and why we made the switch on our labels, read our full blog here: Syrah vs Shiraz Explained