2005 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard- USA, California, Napa Valley (2/11/2012)
My first Switchback Ridge PS. I bought this from the winery when it was first offered and managed to keep my hands off it until last night. But with my new “Life is too short to drink bad wine” philosophy, and my two sons at home, we decided to go with one of these to pair with skillet grilled fillet mignon. We only had 30 minutes to decant it, which was unfortunate because it grew dramatically in the glass.
This is a strong, powerful wine, black fruit and spice with a matching nose. There’s no disconnect here from the minute you lift the glass until you swallow and taste the long finish, this is a seemless taste experience. There is a bit of astringent tanin left, but they do not get in the way and do not make your mouth implode. I left about an ounce in the glass and came back to it 4 hours later and found a noticeable chocolate added to the flavor profile. The alcohol, to be sure, is 16.4% ABV, and if you concentrate on it you can find it on the nose, but it is not overly intrusive. There is no direct oak flavor but there’s a creamyness and a bit of vanilla mixed into the fruit to indicate a fair allocation of new oak. It just adds to an overall complex, smooth and delicious flavor profile.
Lots of sediment, by the way and the cork was very tight and dry except at the very bottom. Surprising because my cellar is extremely moist. Maybe they tightly compressed it on purpose because PS is supposed to be so long lived and they want a cork that will stand up to years of soaking in wine at one end. Who knows? (93 pts.)
Jay, saw your note this morning in CT. Thank you. This wine remains in my Top 3 wines in my range of things I have drank the past 10 years. it’s not Volnay,or Chablis, it won’t hit you with delicacy but it is just a true experience.
BTW. as much as we have debated this point about Switchback and their use of oak for the petite, there isn’t any. None. I have asked Kelly about this in the past, she is very clear that Bob Foley uses older wood only. What you’re getting is petite at its very finest, this will always be Switchback 2005.
BTW, the 2009s are very good, better than the 2008s, as the 09s have acid and some spine. Wil be a great vintage for Kelly and Switchback.
PS–here is my most recent TN, I think my 10th on this wine, which speaks to my love for it.
2005 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard- USA, California, Napa Valley (11/7/2011)
Still drinks with such class for a big wine, for a big varietal. A bit different than the last bottle a few months back, this shows a bit gentler: still dark but not as tight. For context, simply open a 1/2 hour. Has the requisite chocolate, dark fruit and deep flavor of petite but where this wine does not get, where it doesn’t go is cloying, nor hot (despite the listed alcohol of 16.4%) or overblown. Even at 2 hours, which is where the bottle is now, what comes through is the chocolate bar, the pure black fruit, iron and maye a bit of structure but this wine is such a thrill to drink. Still a classic wine for me and while this isn’t delicate red wine, it can pair with food. I’ll argue that it can and even with the intense expression that it shows, it can work with certain foods like ribs, steak and other fall and winter fare. I took it to task with a Trader Joes’ three cheese pizza tonight and it worked great. I flat out love this wine, always have and before it’s all said and done, I’ll have 12 bottles of this wine consumed and TN’d, as this is how much I dig this bottle. I enjoy delicate, I thrive on wines with acid, mineral and red fruits now but I also like throttle, with balance, and this SR 05 still gets 'er done.
Not sure which of the SR petites was poured at Falltacular this year, but it was wonderful - and just kept getting better the longer that it sat in my glass.
Love their take on the variety, and they certainly show that this variety can stand on its own and do so with grace, power and distinction - and not simply be used as a blender . . .
That 09 certainly was tasty!!! I’m going to the PS I LOVE YOU tasting this week up in Alameda, and there will be about 60 PS producers - no one will have white teeth by the end of the night!!! Wish SR was pouing . . . .
I was going to say that this was a manly man’s wine in the note, but Rebecca also liked it, so I did not want to get into that debate. Just remember that 93 is “outstanding.” I know that you academics are big into gradeflation and you give out 93s like penny candy, but 93 is a very good score on my scale.
If there is no new oak at all, then the wine is all that more remarkable for the superb vineyard management and winemaking that create so many identifiable flavors in a well-balanced whole.
Man, it’s been a long time since I posted a note on this wine. I’ve drank a lot of it over the years, and this is my final bottle from the cellar, a magnum. I believe that this bottle was a gift, purchased for me by our own Larry Schaffer, as part of a Falltacular auction lot back in the 2014 event. Larry (and those who pitched in for the bottle if I missed others), thank you for that kindness.
This is such a helluva bottle of Petite Sirah, and one of my all time favorite wines I have drank over my 30 years doing this. It found me at a time when I didn’t understand the grape, and it hit me just right, bringing me so much joy over those years. It helped me foster a friendship with Kelly Petersen, whose family owns the plot up on Silverado Trail, not far from downtown Calistoga. Kelly has been a dedicated supporter of Falltacular for so many years, and this wine circled through the hands of Larry, another devoted supporter, so I post this wine as thank you and in honor of them for all the great memories it created and still does today.
I still like Petite, but I don’t drink as much as I used to because I am such a frail, fragile palate that has to pick my spots when I drink a voluptuous wine like this wine, but man, this is so good.
We don’t need to pick sides or camps when it comes to wine, as there are many styles to be expressed and I too can still find the joy equally in aged Switchback Petite, as much as I can a bottle of Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee. Both are glorious in their own way.
Happy holidays everyone.
2005 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard- USA, California, Napa Valley (11/19/2017)
I’ve drank a lot of this wine over the past 10 years, probably a couple gallons I figure. In that time, I have had a chance to watch it evolve and change over so many bottles. This bottle for this note is my last one, poured from a remaining mag I have held onto. No air, just pulled the cork and drained off a few ounces for this note. All together, this still tastes and shows like the 05. There is a pure, ripe quality on the aromatic but there is absence of heat, which I appreciate. The wine is starting to age, there are some aged qualities coming into the wine. Some of depth and youthful plushness is now receded and replaced by a more moderately toned expression . Yes, there is the dark fruit and chocolate still here, along with a ferrous/iron quality that carries into the finish. Some tannin shows through too, just a light grip that livens the finish. And just a light note of prune in the finish too, but I’d expect that from the 2005. Finishes with a nice lift of acidity, iron and dark chocolate bar note. I’ve loved this wine for what it is for a long time, and I still maintain and carry a love for CA Petite Sirah. This 2005 will always be an icon for me…final update from the mag we opened y/day. Been sitting out on the counter all day, it’s at room temp of 68f and it pours the color of motor oil to my glass. The structure is completely folded together now, with just some traces of the iron, mostly now dominated by a plush, pure chocolate and dark fruit note. Beautifully integrated and no heat that I can find. Just a dash of powdery tannin hanging around but that’s about all. The lesson here is open and just give this some air, then drink and enjoy. Again, ignore, ignore all the fuss about waiting for these to be 30 years old. Bologna. Drink these now and create some joy.
Frank, I’m glad that magnum is showing well. Kelly Peterson gave me that bottle and I sent it your way for your annual event. I remember your posting that Larry and others bought it for you and thinking that was way cool. I think I have a few 750s of this left. I’ll have to open one soon.
Ah ha, and so the circle is closed. Truett, thank you my man. You can see now that these wines do make it through a charity experience and into glasses, many yesterday at my place and a few tonight for me.
Brig, you survived and if you were over here tonight to try it, you would see how lovely this is with all the air it has enjoyed.
It was the 2004 that got my dinner bought by all of the others in our dinner group when we had a theme of Winner Gets Dinner and all wines were served blind. Interesting to compare blind notes prior to unveiling with yours and Franks for the 05`:
2004 SWITCHBACK RIDGE PETERSON FAMILY VINEYARD PETITE SIRAH- This hits the WOW factor from the get go; the color is a rich, dark vibrant ruby red; the nose is redolent of liquorice, fennel, anise and cedar; by mid palate, blueberry, clove and mint chocolate join in and all are delivered in a silky smooth palate pleasing way and continue on through a long welcomed finish that my mind says “keep going”; it is readily apparent, this beats all before it and I now have a new #1 to this point; can any of the last 3 top this?
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