Syrah is a wine with a lot of tongue-drying tannins and a reputation for being full-bodied, which means it tastes heavier in the mouth. A lot of tannins are found in this wine, and it's aged for anything from six to eighteen months in either American or French oak barrels before being bottled. As a consequence, one gets flavors like blackberries, cocoa, coffee, mint, tobacco, black pepper, and even smoked meat. While it generally has a high level of tannins, the way it expresses those tannins depends on the environment and varietal.