Nobody knows how we wine tasters suffer for our art. And when we try to tell them, we get no sympathy.

I'm not complaining "too" much, but I tasted 70 American petite sirahs and about 200 other wines in three days recently at the San Francisco Chronicle 2008 Wine Competition. And ended up with a raw throat and a stunned palate.

(Yes, yes, of course I was sipping and spitting; otherwise I wouldn't be here to complain about it.)

Petite sirah is a big, bold red wine, naturally high in acid and tannin, so tasting a lot of them is hard on a guy.

It could be worse. At the Indianapolis State Fair a few years ago I tasted a big flight of petite sirahs by amateur winemakers, many of whom had not learned how to control their acids. Whoo.

And I'm not knocking petite sirah. It's a wonderful wine with black-crusted, grilled New York strip steaks, wild game and other extra-hearty fare. And winemakers today — the pros, anyway — have learned to tame its acids and tannins to turn out marvels of black plum, mulberry and mocha.

It's just nice to taste them one at a time. Here are tasting notes for some of the best petite sirahs my panel tasted in the San Francisco competition. BEST OF CLASS

l 2005 Mount Aukum Winery Petite Sirah Fair Play Reserve: mulberry and mocha aromas and flavors; opulent, smooth, rich; $32.

DOUBLE GOLD

l 2006 Starry Night Winery Petite Sirah, Lodi: intense mulberry aromas and flavors; full-bodied and smooth; bitter coffee finish;

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$18.

l 2005 Mount Aukum Winery Fair Play: aromas of menthol and black cherries; milk chocolate flavors; big, ripe tannins; $26.

SINGLE GOLD

l 2005 Page Mill Winery Petite Sirah, Livermore Valley Estate: sweet black plum aromas and flavors; rich, bitter chocolate finish; $36.

l 2005 Twisted Oak Winery Petite Sirah, Calaveros County: aromas and flavors of mulberries; very smooth; long finish; $24.

l 2004 Santa Cruz Mountain Winery Petite Sirah, Mendocino County: rich black plum flavors; bitter chocolate finish; $18.

l 2005 C.G. DiArie Vineyard Petite Sirah, Shenandoah Valley Estates: tart black raspberry aromas and flavors; sweet chocolate finish; very smooth; $25.

l 2005 Earthquake Petite Sirah, Earthquake: aromas and flavors of mint, black cherries and mocha, big tannins; $28.

SILVER

Here are a few of my favorites in this category:

l 2004 John Christopher Cellars Petite Sirah, California: floral aroma, rich, mellow mulberry flavors, rich and smooth; $22.

l 2004 Ursa Vineyards Petite Sirah, California: mellow oak aromas; flavors of black raspberries and milk chocolate; big tannins; $16.

l 2005 Rideau Vineyard Petite Sirah, Circle Cellar Club: complex aromas and flavors of black cherry and mocha; moderate tannins; very smooth; $59.

l 2004 Ursa Vineyards Petite Sirah, Paso Robles Shell Creek: tart cherry aromas; mulberry and cinnamon flavors; ripe tannins; $22.

l 2004 Storrs Winery Petite Sirah, Santa Cruz Mountains: intense black raspberry, clove and mocha aromas and flavors; ripe tannins; $23.