WCC Syrah from around the world tasting

All wines double-decanted beforehand and served double-blind.

• 2006 Red Diamond Shiraz 75 Points

  USA, Washington

  Wasn't much of a fan of this. The aromatics are quite unpleasant – strong oaky and slightly reductive, burnt rubber-like notes dominate dark fruit beneath. But the palate is better, showing cleaner black fruit and some coffee notes, though it still feels rather extracted and alcoholic.

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• 2004 Neyers Syrah Cuvée d'Honneur 87 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Quite nice, easily my favorite of this flight. There's a savoury meaty, bacon fat-like aroma to this that leads into a palate that's medium weight and full of bright red fruit. The fruit still feels quite ripe and sappy, enough that I was guessing a newer Cali IPOB producer's Syrah here. Good, if a bit one-dimensional.

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• 2012 K Vintners Syrah Motor City Kitty 60 Points

  USA, Washington

  Couldn't get past the nose on this. A blast of acetone and rubbing alcohol. A sip tastes blisteringly hot, with the alcohol completely over the top and rendering it undrinkable for me.

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• 2012 Shafer Relentless 75 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Another blast of alcohol on the nose, though this clears somewhat with a couple of minutes in the glass and gives way to lots of rich red and black fruit and spicy notes. There's a roasted character to the fruit though, and the wine lacks freshness - I'm left wanting both acidity and a couple of degrees less alcohol here.

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• 1988 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  I've had some hit and miss experiences with various La Chapelles, but this was very much a hit. Lovely wine - quite mature, with red fruits, earth, a sauvage meaty character, and more savoury brothy notes coming together seamlessly on a medium weight palate. There's a faintly roasted tinge to the aromas here and it still feels a touch blocky and tannic on the back end, but the overall package is lovely to sit down with and explore with a bit of air.

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• 1995 Domaine Barge Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Oh hell yes, this is the real deal. Fully mature and remarkably light on the palate, there's gentle red fruit here but this is really all about the savoury developed character - layers of green olives, dried floral notes, and savoury meatiness all come together seamlessly, and it's far too easy to drink. The tannin here feels mostly resolved (surprised to see this was a '95 on reveal - given the vintage, I would have expected a lot more tannin here), but the structure here comes from a spine of bright acidity that gives it a sense of freshness and brightness. Lovely wine. I need more Barge in my cellar.

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• 2013 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

  Double-decanted a couple of hours before serving (and it threw quite a bit of sediment already). There's a stemmy character that shows at first, but it mostly integrates with air. By the time this is poured, it's all about fresh red fruits and higher toned pepper and floral notes, with the stemmy notes playing a supporting note in the background and adding a light, fresh herbaceous character. A pretty, welterweight expression of Gonon that still has years ahead with plenty of fine grained tannin and bright acids beneath. I'll give my next bottle a bit more time.

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• 2005 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 85 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Rather blocky and charmless; there's some red and black fruit here tinged with faintly meaty and spicy notes, but there's also a faint oaky element that hasn't really integrated into the wine, and some woody tannin on the back end that sticks out.

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• 2003 Torbreck The Factor 89 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Powerhouse of a wine. First impressions are impressive with soaring aromatics - intense black fruited and meaty notes dominate here, though there's a surprisingly sweet floral note (honeysuckle?) that has me wondering if there's some Viognier in this blend as well. There's similar power and intensity of flavour on the palate, and surprising acidity giving it more lift than I'd expect for such a big wine - but the alcohol does stick out on the back end and mars this a bit.

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• 2001 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Dead Arm

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Came across relatively one-note with lots of black fruit, though I also didn't spend a lot of time on this - found a couple of the other wines in the flight more interesting and also kept going back to my pours from the previous flight, while this didn't really hold my interest.

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• 2004 Torbreck RunRig 87 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Quite similar to the first wine in this flight (which turned out to be the same producer) with similar intensity and aromatic profile, though the aromatics here are less floral and high-toned and there's more of a savoury, toasty element here. But this also feels a bit heavier and lacks the acidity and lift of the first wine.

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• 1998 Penfolds Grange 90 Points

  Australia, South Australia

  Well, this was disappointing to see revealed as '98 Grange - it's a wine that I'd normally be very excited to sit down and drink but this felt a bit blocky and painfully youthful and didn't really distinguish itself from the rest of the flight. The red and black fruit here feels very dense, somewhat monolithic, though there's a high-toned minty and herbal aromatic topnote that adds a sense of freshness. There's also a lot of apparent tannin on the palate, and it still feels like a wine more about potential and promise than immediate pleasure.

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