Wine Tasting: Syrahs from Around the World- Summary

A truly great tasting because of the diverse wines and styles! The wines were well representative of Syrah, a truly versatile varietal. Having returned from Australia, I'm obsessed with Syrah.

Six local people in the wine business attended. All well experienced tasters, we still had very different opinions about the wines. Here are the Group Rankings of the 9 wines:
1. Turkey Flat Shiraz 2001- Barossa Valley, AUS; $40 (10 points)
2. Dehlinger Syrah "Goldridge" 1994- Russian River, CA; ~$35 (14 points)
3. D'arenberg Shiraz/Viognier 2001- McLaren Vale, AUS; $29 (17 points)
4. tie- Bernard Griffin Syrah 2001- Columbia Valley, WA; $28 (30 points)
4. tie- Te Mata Syrah "Bullnose" 2002- Hawkes Bay, NZ; $35 (30 points)
4. tie- Tardieu- Laurent Syrah- Cornas, FR; $54 (30 points)
5. Wild Gaucho Shiraz 2002- Mendoza, AR; $7 (31 points)
6. tie- Grapeleaf Cellars Syrah 2000; $25 (32 points)
6. tie- Dehlinger Syrah 1997; $36 (32 points)- slightly corked?

Observations:

• The tasting showcases the multifacets of Syrah.
  
• Syrah is a slutty grape- can grow anywhere and the styles are wildly
  different.
  
• Spectrum was huge and polarizing. Some folks clearly preferred old world
  styles while others dismissed them.
  
• Top 3 were clear favorites. After that wines were all very close (w/in 2
  points), resulting in several ties.
  
• Though the oldest wine, Dehlinger Syrah "Goldridge" 1994 has no signs of
  aging or losing its fruit.
  
• The "ringer" was Wild Gaucho , a $7 Argentinean Shiraz made in the
  Australian style. It was no Australian wine but, as Kimberly observed,
  "tried hard to please". However, people expressed interest in its price to
  quality ratio.