1. 2001 Stags' Leap Winery Syrah - USA, California, Napa Valley
   [Double decanted at 11:30am.] Smoky red and black fruit nose. Sweet juicy fruit. Medium length. A very tasty wine. Ready. (92 points)
2. 2000 Neyers Syrah Cuvée d'Honneur - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
   [Double decanted at 3pm.] Muted nose. Astringent in the mouth. Tried it in another glass. It was better, but still not appealing. Others liked it better. (77 points)
3. 2003 Pax Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
   [Double-decanted around 5pm.] Ripe nose of sweet & spicy red fruit. Ripe and juicy in the mouth. Long and tasty. (93 points)
4. 2002 Lagier Meredith Syrah - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
   [Double-decanted around 5pm.] Interesting, complex nose. Ripe juicy delicious red fruit and unsweetened chocolate. Long finish. A bit more subtle than 1 or 3. (93 points)

5. 2009 Herman Story Syrah White Hawk Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
   [Double decanted at 11:30am.] Big, spicy red fruit nose. Rich, spicy, and complex. Long and tasty. (93 points)
6. 2011 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
   [Pop and pour.] Bitter, tannic. Needs more time. Judgement reserved.
7. 2011 Donelan Syrah Obsidian Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley
   [Double decanted for 2 hours the night before the tasting!] Big rich spicy red fruit. More complex and expressive than the previous wines. My #3 WOTN (95 points)
8. 2012 Failla Syrah Hudson Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
   [Double-decanted at 2pm.] Nose of red fruit and cinnamon. Rich, complex, a somewhat different flavor profile. Very good. (94 points)

9. 2004 Alban Vineyards Syrah Lorraine - USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
   [Double decanted at about 8am.] Intense ripe nose. Quite tannic, but with loads of ripe fruit. Still needs time. (93–95 points)
10. 2005 Ojai Syrah Thompson Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
    Ripe spicy complex sweet with a super-long finish. (94 points)
11. 2002 Saxum Broken Stones - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
    [Double-decanted at 5:20pm for about 20 minutes.] Stunningly complex and expansive. Similar in flavor to the others, but has an exquisiteness that makes it special. My #2 WOTN. (95 points)
12. 2003 Sine Qua Non Syrah Papa - USA, California, Central Coast
    [Double-decanted around 5pm.] Wow, just wow. Really jumps out at you. Very long and complex with subtle red berries. Special. My WOTN. Group WOTN by a wide margin. (96 points)

• 2010 Lagier Meredith Precious Bane - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
  [Double-decanted around 5pm.] Not quite like any wine I can recall. I never had a fortified red wine that was so light on its feet. Hard to describe. Just exquisite and ethereal. (94 points)
• 2002 Hazyblur Shiraz Late Picked Baroota - Australia, South Australia, Far North, Baroota
  [Pop and pour.] 500ml bottle. Nice rich sweet wine, but seems a bit heavy and clunky after the Bane. (90 points)

WOTN Voting (3pts each for #1, 2pts for #2, 1pt for #3)

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