This time of year brings the annual wine road trip. For the past three years, it’s been Rob “Robby Sox” Winn and Chris Fitch. We make the trek together, enjoying each others company, dining with some great friends and enjoying some meals, along with hanging out with some of our favorite winemakers/wineries along the way. Since I have come to the place in my own wine experience where appointments are what give me the most thrill, education and time to visit with the producers I buy and enjoy the most, this is the way we roll. 4 days this year, no more than 2 stops in a day, spending time with great people. We can’t see everyone, every year due to the way we lay these out but this year the pace was perfect, with even some of the stops a bit short on time, as I will journal regarding Wells @ Copain and Pax @ Windgap. We also visited Mike @ Carlisle, Jeff @ Pisoni, TRB @ Rivers-Marie/Schrader, as well as some nice time with Jim @ Jemrose and Cardiac Hill. More to come on those as I get time to journal them out over the next week, along with photos.
For Day 1, after flying into Suck-some-metal, we got the rental and headed over to, what else, pick up some 2005 Switchback petite I had secured at Backroom Wines in Napa. I grabbed the last 4, which are now safely resting here at home.
We had a late afternoon appointment with Kelly Peterson @ Switchback Ridge over at the Peterson vineyard, which is off of Silverado Trail, a few miles south of Calistoga. The vineyard tucks into a corner off the road, which you will drive right by if you aren’t watching carefully. A small blue gate sits next to the road:
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We drive, up to the house that sits against the Cab and Merlot blocks and the big chocolate lab comes to greet us, along with Kelly. If you have yet to meet Kelly, you’re missing out of one of the nicest people, along with a good wine and bizness sense. She knows her stuff and she is committed to making great wines at what I would argue is a time when prices went nuts, especically for Napa stuff…not Switchback. They do make a forward style, with Bob Foley as the winemaker, but this style appeals to some, as it does to me. The wines are affordable, the prices have stayed in the very fair zone, for what I believe you get in the bottles.
We greet Kelly, settle in and then take a walk through the vineyard. My first interest, of course, is the petite block so we head over there. 50 year old vines, planted by Kelly’s dad John, when he was a young boy. He still lives on the property and is a veteran of the Napa wine culture. As for the petite vines which John planted back in the 1950s, they sit in the old vine block, dry farmed and close to the ground:
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Some of the vines have died, what I have learned in vineyard talk by some is a “miss”, where a vine no longer thrives or has died…a miss in the pattern, I suppose. There is also a new petite vine section behind the house that is about 10 years old. To give a sense of the ‘yield’ picture on the two blocks, the old vine (and forgive me Kelly if I blow the # here)…the old vine block is about 7 acres, yields about 5 tons total-- , whereas the young block is about 2 acres and yields about 10 tons-- . Thus, the challenge and beauty of old vine versus young vine fruit. PS–John, do NOT remove my old vine petite .
Along with petite, there is cab and merlot, which takes up the rest of the property.
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After touring the property, time to taste! Rob mentions to Kelly that he wanted to revisit one day the 1999 Merlot, which was their first bottling. A short time later, out comes the merlot, making Rob very happy.
1999 Switchback Ridge Merlot Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/7/2009)
When first opened, shows a barnyardy note, faint but present, which seemed to blow off as the wine aired out in the glass. With now several years in the bottle and almost 10 vintages out, shows lots of life with polished bright cherry and smooth texture. The first SR Merlot ever made, still cruising along just fine.
Posted from CellarTracker
We also tried the 2006 Cabernet…
2006 Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/7/2009)
I really appreciate the aromatics on this wine…they lift out of the glass. Crushed berry, chocolate, currant and as the wine airs out, more dark cherry, red and black edges, tobacco and some tannin. Needs more time but tasting nice now, albeit the youth.
Posted from CellarTracker
Then, for me, and thank you to Kelly, out comes a # of shiner petite 1/2 bottles. Not knowing what vintages there were, we tried them all. I love Switchback petite, having developed a real fondness for them about 2 years ago. The fire for these wines, which feeds my own thrill for drinking wines of this size when I seek them, is noted below. The 2004-2006 petites:
2004 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/7/2009)
So sitting down to taste the petites, Kelly flighted the 04, 05 and 06 for us, out of 1/2 bottles. This 2004 was different from the other two and it showed the contrast between vintages. I have to remark here that this 2004 was not what I expected, as given the heat of the vintage and the potential ripeness challenge I was expecting, I found a different wine. Nose of blue flowers, incense and a wine that size-wise was not the giant sometimes SR can be. Yes, big but even, and don’t throw me to the wolves…a sense of elegance, if I can offer that in the same context of a SR petite. Black cherry, little gamy, as much acid it seems as fruit, with terrific focus and less brawn. As the wine sits more in the glass and we talk through the others, the 2004 gets juicier with some black edged fruit but now the blueberry really pulls forward and signs the entire wine. The nose, the finish all smells of delicious blueberry notes. Inky down the sides, probably needing another 3 years in bottle but this was very impressive to me, a wine that really showed its pedigree–power and elegance together. Nice.
2005 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/7/2009)
I may drink a bottle of this per month until I run out. I really continue to like this vintage a lot. Plum on the nose, hint of creosote, inky dark and concentrated/tannic. Blackberry laced finish, less blue in tone than the 2004, with this wine being more about the black with a red/iron edge fruit to it. Also in this bottle a loamy component that finds its way in, along with a crushed fruit element. If anything, this bottle, as opposed to all the other previous bottles I have noted and enjoyed, showed the flash and sheer power, joined with some complex edges. Brilliant again.
2006 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/7/2009)
Having just drank the 2006 last weekend in the blind event we held, it was really cool to taste this bottle on the property, with Kelly, her dad, Chris and Rob. To taste the fruit and stare out at the same time at the vines that made the wine was really a great moment. Mucho chocolate with a core of mixed fruit, mainly black, but some red and blue edges, too. Lots of chalk, of course, too. As the wine sits, it picks up a creamy jammy nose, and a richer texture, and starts to smooth out some. The chalk still does not subside, taking over the finish, along with charcoal, tannin and leather. This wine needs several more years or an extended multi-day decant, as it’s just a giant. May outlast and outshine the 2005 but we will have to see. I’ll surely make the effort to track it as it evolves over the years.
Posted from CellarTracker
It was a great visit, with Kelly joined by her dad John, one that really sit the stage for the rest of the trip. Kelly and John, keeping making great wines and thanks for having us up!
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