Super stuff here. I pulled this bottle at the end of dinner last night, and we just ripped out the cork and I filled a few glasses, then stuck what little remained in the fridge. A pleasure to re taste today and sit down with the last half glass. Sure glad it hung around as this is is top shelf petite. It has some (not oodles but I really mean some) decadence, yet also acid to keep it from feeling tired. Whammo good. Thanks for reading!
2013 Carlisle Petite Sirah Palisades Vineyard- USA, California, Napa Valley (8/30/2015)
Drank at the end of a long evening’s meal. Super flavors, inky but no booze or overt ripeness…retested next day as the open bottle has about 3 ozs left. Poured off at an ideal temp to write this note. Super dark in color, the early evening light really shows the purple black tones. Inky around the rim of the glass, with some light tannin that is residual from the 24 hrs of air this has enjoyed. Little bit of a graham cracker note on the aromatic, light in tone really, do nothing oaky here to speak of at all. The fruit is dark, juicy with an iron/ferrous quality, boysen and black berry, inky. All together, the experience here is excellent. Truly medium to plus weight, and no more that that, which keeps the wine from being fatiguing. I tell you what, if some of this pops up on the secondary market, I am good for 2-3 more. Excellent.
I only tasted this after committing to Uber for the ride home. Yummy stuff here.
2013 Carlisle Petite Sirah Palisades Vineyard- USA, California, Napa Valley (8/30/2015)
Super saturated inky color. Blueberry and blackberry fruit with plenty of concentration. No surprise this wine is prickly at this young stage but it’s still extremely enjoyable. One of the better petite I’ve tasted.
So would you guys say these are okay to drink at a young age? I have 3-4 vintages worth but haven’t opened up any of them because I’ve been trained to think that Petite Sirah must be aged.
Alex, I think this is great drinking now with air. And, want to mention 2 other things. First, I know people like to age petite and more broadly, like to age wines so other qualities can emerge. I am not that person, as I like the energy of youthful wines and the attraction I feel for them. I also don’t like aged flavors, nor wines that have softened too much. Example–we drank a 2005 Switchback Ridge PS right alongside this Carlisle and the Switchback, now 10 years old, has softened up quite well. Do I want to let that age another 10 years? I do not. I have said on many occasions that I disagree with the wine critics and others who want to lay down petite for 10, 15, 20 years. This is not my strategy and I don’t agree with it.
Finally, my palate tends to moderate structure, and I both enjoy it and find my senses to not get wrapped around the sensation of a wine’s structure. Thus, some wines may feel structured to some, yet not to me.
This is not meant to say drinking petite with age is wrong or that I have the truth cornered here. I’m simply offering a perspective that may be unique to common thinking about petite.
An update. Sitting here watching the Gauff/Babos match live on ESPN. What a fantastic match. Decided to check back in on the Carlisle from this past Saturday. The bottle had about a glass left so I poured it off to wrap up this TN. Smashing good bottle of PS, and while I had initially thought of opening some EB champagne tonight, turned out this hit the spot. Open for 5+ days and it’s just cruising right along.
2013 Carlisle Petite Sirah Palisades Vineyard- USA, California, Napa Valley (8/25/2019) 2019 Suntacular–Champagne Tasting to raise money for Laura’s House: My final bottle of the 2013. Opened this mid-day yesterday, we used it for an event and there is still about a 1/2 bottle remaining. So, hell, let’s give it a go and see what’s here. This has fleshed out nicely with air. Dark and inky in the glass, this is a big wine, with some chocolate and iron wrapping around some blue/red fruit, then finishing with a roundness that has some decent structure still supporting it. Wowza, this is a wine that coats my palate, finishing with bitter chocolate and charcoal. With nearly a 1/3rd of the bottle still left, I am just gonna toss it in the fridge and work on it over the next couple more days…and a Day 5 update, as it’s Thursday night and I opened this bottle way back last Saturday in the morning. It’s just been sitting in the fridge again under the open cork. This stuff is indestructible. Dark fruit, with an iron-edged tone with a plusher texture. Has a good infusion of bitter chocolate, licorice, and a tangy, intense finish. This 2013 has consistently been a killer bottle of PS and while this is my last one, it brings me a great smile to finish it.
Oh Dave, that’s gonna be out of my scope to answer. I have not had any red meat since 1983. So, I’d say go with your instinct and just pair it with steak. It’s a terrific wine, a vintage for Palisades that excels each time I have drank one.