Ive tried bottles from multiple producers and i cant get any real excitement from this varietal.
It looks great, a big deep vibrant purple but it always tastes so flat and dull, it has high ABV but nothing in the way of tannins or acid to back it up.
It really is a poor pathetic imitation of a big Syrah
Thackrey Orion is the cure
Interesting - have you tried it with some age on it, like 7-10 years? That’s the sweet spot for me…and then it can be incredibly interesting. When young, it’s just ink.
Ummm, no.
Try Ridge or Carlisle with at least ten years on bottle age. NOTHING like Syrah/Shiraz.
I really love good Petite Sirah, but it is hard to find a real good bottle that hasn’t edged up to pricey and may not be as good as last vintage. The Thackrey Sirius is a good choice. Switchback, Relic and Foley are pretty consistent and stellar. Retro has had mostly good vintages.
Lots of Pets threads on this board. Carlisle, Turley, Thackrey, Scholium, Switchback… lots of options. Pets is anything but boring, but can be elusive. Also, check out this Pets advocacy group:
I’m not a big Petite Sirah fan, but to say it has little tannin or acid seems rather odd to me. It may be a result of the ones you’ve tried, because many of the most prominent examples have enough tannin and acid that they’re difficult to enjoy until they’ve had many years of age.
-Al
Probably the most aged and rated ive had are Turley Hayne PS 09 & 10. not that old but enough to develop
Its not a bad grape, it just sort of looks like Tarzan drinks like Jane
Alan:
I went up to the Turley pick-up party in April. They were pouring the '94, '95 and '96 Hayne Petite’s. I wanted to try them because I had never tasted a Turley Pet that old. They were certainly not flat and not dull, and were full of flavor and acid. Whether they are worth the money is only something an individual buyer can answer, not me. My point is that you should look for some older ones to see if those are more in your wheelhouse. If not, cross them off the list and use your money for something you will enjoy more.
Thanks,
Ed
Paging Scott W. 
Yup I either find it way tannic or as someone recently pointed out to me it’s like drinking chalk. Maybe I never really had a great one?
Yeah man, I think you just haven’t found “the one” yet that will change your mind.
I remember you posting about having some newer Turley PS that didn’t blow your hair back, but when it comes down to it, you have to try some bottles with age.
If you have a chance to taste some California PS from the 60’s or 70’s, you should absolutely do so. Had a random Carneros Creek Winery (not around anymore I don’t think) from 1976 that was slap you in the face good. Bright fruit, fully integrated tannins, just singing. Blind, you’d never guess it was that old. Also I’ve had some luck at auction with older Freemark Abbey PS (1973), and Ridge PS (although I’ve had a couple of completely DOA Ridge PS from the 1970’s, but storage has been questionable - the perils of buying from WineBid)
As others have mentioned (and as I think I mentioned in your posts about hating the recent release Turley PS), find some old Hayne Vineryard PS and give it a whirl. think anything 1994 - 2003.
If you don’t have the patience or can’t source any of the old stuff, I HIGHLY recommend snagging a 2012 Adaptation PS. Killer bottle of wine, and one of my top 5 PS ever (back up the truck pricing at $40 IMHO).
And 1 more name to look out for that doesn’t get mentioned here much. Aratas PS. if you can find a 2008, grab your CC and buy it. Amazing wine that drinks well now, but will age for a long, long time.
Petite Sirah is the new Charbono. It is the common Durif variety. True, the wines can seemingly last forever but IMO it does not become more complex. To me the wines often have a chalky mouthfeel which I don’t like.
I don’t know man. I’ve had more positive experiences with aged PS (say prior to 1990) than negative.
Any experiences in particular where you feel like there was a lack of complexity with an older PS from a reputable producer? Not doubting you by any means…just curious.
Gee, you probably hate meat as well, since that is what this is meant to be drunk with. but this, I just don’t get:
Huh? PS has plenty of tannins which need to round out to make it interesting and better. like the others have said, give good producers 10 years+ and, it won’t transform (I won’t lie to you), but it will become tamer and the package will come together better.
But you still have to like meat.
Had a 1994 Turley Aida vineyard a couple of years ago and it was stellar. You would never have thought it was more than 20 years old. Black fruit, massive black pepper, savory, dense.
One the other end did a total infanticide of a 2013 Mending Wall PS and it was beyond massive but it had so much of everything that you just know it’s going to get better and better (and it was already really good).
Been buying Turley PS for many years but never opened one until last year. The wine blew me away and made me smile. It was a 2003 Hayne PS.
Patience is required.
For example I had the Alban 2012 Grenache the other day, wine was just huge and borderline undrinkable it has massive amounts of fruit, tannins, acid and other things. The energy and life in the wine was incredible, it was easy to see that in 10 years this will hopefully come around to a spectacular wine
The 14 Carlisle Palisades had none of that energy for me and already felt a bit tired, cant explain it but thats what i experienced so if it became even tamer it would not be a good thing. I could not believe how flat it was
Yup…pretty much sounds like a typical Alban Grenache or Syrah. But don’t hold your breathe waiting for itto come around.
John’s wines are so massive & extracted that they just don’t evolve much at all. I’ve very rarely had one that had the nuance or complexity
of a Qupe/Jaffurs/Ojai. You just stand in awe of their intensity & extraction, but enjoyment…forget about it. Which is why I have no regrets
about being kicked off John’s mailing list.
Tom
Well I think Carlisle is done in a more lush style. If you’ve ever had one’s that I’ve found structured like Foppiano’s old-vine bottling (I think this ended around 1993 or so, an excellent ageworthy wine) or Rockland (whatever happened to them?), then perhaps you might change your mind…or not. I can see how you think they could be boring, however, since aging mellows them and gives them a patina but never transforms them like the best wines do.