Syrah Blind Tasting
Attended a well-appointed cookout this weekend and a blind wine tasting broke out. Some of the most respected wine critics in Washington DC my friends bagged six wines and drank up, recording our data on my freshly printed wine tasting sheets.
The theme was Syrah/Shiraz. Guests were asked to bring a wine where Syrah was the principal grape. Price limit was set at $20. No regional bounds were set, so of course I went with a Maryland wine. I knew I was bringing a bottle of Maryland’s Finest from Black Ankle Vineyards. My target was their Passeggiata, but Wells Liquors was out of it that day. Rather than drive around town looking for the wine I wanted, I swallowed my pride and paid up $44 for the Black Ankle Leaf Stone Syrah.
Wine were evaluated blind with the tasters knowing only that the wine was Syrah. Wines were bagged and capsules stripped prior to tastings.
As I tallied up the scores at the end of the night, I realized something really cool: two people had brought the same wine. The 2006 Colonial Estate Explorateur came out of both bag 3 and bag 4. The people who brought the wine did so independently. It’s the sort of thing that got me really geeked. Here we had evaluated the exact same wine without knowing it was the same wine.
So, two interesting factors in play. One, two of the wines were the same. Two, Maryland was in there tangling blindly with Australia, California, and Chile.
The contenders:
1) 2007 Miguel Torres Santa Dinga Shiraz, Chile
2) 2005 Zaca Mesa Syrah
3) 2006 Colonial Estate Explorateur Old Vine Shiraz, Barossa Valley Australia
4) 2006 Colonial Estate Explorateur Old Vine Shiraz, Barossa Valley Australia
5) 2007 Black Ankle Leaf Stone Syrah, Frederick County, Maryland
6) 2008 Raw Power Shiraz, South Australia
Onto the scores…
Wines were scored out of fifty possible points. Scores were Parkerized by adding fifty more points.
And the analysis…
The Leaf Store Syrah finished third by average score at 80.7 and medaled four times. It was my Wine of the Night (WOTN) receiving an 86. An 86! From me! And, Maryland! I was pleasantly surprised as it was the only wine that wasn’t barreling me over with alcohol and oak. Good balance, good fruit, some floral aromas. It’s not worth $44 (let’s not get ahead of ourselves) but it is a well-made wine.
How did the duplicate bottle of 2006 Colonial Estate Explorateur Old Vine Shiraz fare? It was the clear winner by score with an average of 82.6 and three medals. It also finished fourth at 78.8 with a gold and a bronze to show for the effort. Jon was the only one that scored the wine the same, but it should be noted that his component scores (for nose, palette, etc…) were different. For more, here’s one of those wine tasting videos where the taster stares at you while he drinks wine link.
The 2007 Miguel Torres Santa Dinga showed well, barely being edged out by the Explorateur. It averaged 81.6 and picked up one gold, two silvers, and a bronze. Dead last was the 2005 Zaca Mesa Syrah averaging 72.58 and turning up as the least liked wine on three ballots. Mike brought that one, and he says “you’re welcome.” No wine scored over 90. The Explorateur was the only one to come close pulling down scores of 88 and 89.
Nobody left impressed with any of the wines unfortunately. Perhaps tasting blind leaves you with some sense of anticipation, leading on the hope that you’ll uncover something really good. Not so in this case.
March 23rd, 2010 at 6:09 pm
I knew from the minute I smelled the second of the same bottles that it was a duplicate. I cleverly scored the nose and palate differently just to throw you off.
March 24th, 2010 at 6:22 am
Crafty as usual.
April 10th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
I was really impressed with the Black Ankle Leaf Stone Syrah. But I couldn’t pull the trigger, and of course, regretted it on my way back to Florida. I actually scored the wine higher than the ’07 Crumbling Rock, although to be fair, the Crumbling Rock needs some time in bottle. I’ll be interested to see how the Syrah program develops in Maryland, especially at Black Ankle. Cheers!