TN: 2012 Briceland Vineyards Petit Verdot Ishi Pishi Ranch (My American WOTY)

WINE TALK
1

Sent Bobby (and Marc) a pic of this as I was drinking and he asked me to post the note, so here goes.

The palate showed cool black fruit, graphite, green tobacco, oregano and violets. The palate is at once concentrated and restrained. Medium bodied and light on the tongue with fine-grained tannins and good acidity. Well balanced with a long cool menthol finish. This will continue to improve for another 10 years and has the structure to drink well 25 years from vintage.

This bears a strong resemblance to the 1986 La Mission Haut Brion. How can a 100% Petit Verdot from Humboldt County be so similar to a First Growth Bordeaux (that doesn’t contain PV)? Yet this Wine is also quite unique. Genuinely mind-blowing. 12 cases made from Organic grapes. 13.4%ABV. (94 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

This wine shocked me as much as any wine that I’ve ever had. Just before we headed to a Korean BBQ on Friday night, I pulled this out, not knowing what to expect. To the best of my recollection, I have never had a single varietal Petit Verdot before and this simply blew my mind. Blind, there is no way that anyone would have pegged this correctly. My mental rolodex of wines I’ve tasted took me to a much older LMHB (that drank quite young). The wines shared an intense blackberry flavor and tannic structure. To be sure there were differences too; the Bordeaux was richer and more powerful, the Briceland had a menthol note and more overall funkiness.

In hopes for validation, I looked on Cellartracker after I had jotted down some notes and saw that another taster (Chris Seiber?) had a similar experience with this wine, though he suggested that the wine was most like a Loire Cab Franc. It was really a strange and delicious animal. I’ve tasted with Andrew and I’ve really liked his wines in the past, especially his Pinots, but IMO this is the best wine he ever produced.

2

We want the pic too.

Funny when I read your CT note I was thinking your descriptors were similar to a Loire Cab Franc (the green pepper note people often use to me is more oregano for some reason). Then I got to your follow up. I have some Hess PV’s that were part of an old wine club shipment, I’ll pop one after my sabbatical.

3

Craig.

I find redder fruit in Loire reds. This was unmistakably blackberry and it really bore a strong similarity to the LMHB, which I’ve only had on one occasion, so I cannot tell you that it was typical flavor profile for the producer.

Unfortunately, the pics aren’t that exciting.

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That wasn’t the picture he sent me, CJ. This one has been cropped. Corey can be rather risqué at times…

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Let me know which first growth Bordeaux that you’re thinking about and I might be able to give you an answer.

6

Umm…

LMHB. The intense blackberry taste was similar in both wines.

Also, this is Jorge on the phone:
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Not only is LMHB not a first growth, it’s not classified at all (unless you count the Graves classification of 1953).

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Corey, yep, that be Chris Seiber’s note. He uses that moniker in CT. The irony is that he doesn’t own any in his CT inventory so my hunch is that he tasted that while on a trip or something.

Thanks for posting your experience. It’s cool to see someone bring that kind of narrative here to the forum. I had something similar this year with the Copain in my sig line below. A moment when we know there is really something special in the glass.

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I do have a bottle or two, just not updated in inventory.

Actually, I’ve been hoping to do a PV tasting flight at some point. I have that, a Duckhorn PV, and some expensive one I got as a gift once.

Huge fan of the Briceland. I should inquire if they have any newer vintages.

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Corey, save a bottle for me, sounds right up my wheelhouse. God I love that hint of menthol.

I have to track down the name of that fun Bordeaux I had recently that is 100% Petite Verdot. Not a blockbuster, just fun and a little geeky.