Forlorn-Hope LesDeuxMathieux PetiteSirah Mt.T’s Vnyd/SuisunVlly (14.7%; 97 cs) MatthewRorickWines/Calistoga 2006: Very dark/black color w/ some bricking; strong pungent/licorice/PS/peppery some dusty/earthy/OV bit alcoholic/volatile some toasty/pencilly/oak nose; soft/fat rather licorice/peppery/PS quite rugged/tannic some toasty/oak fairly earthy/dusty/OV little fruit very coarse flavor w/ ample drying/hard tannins; long fairly earthy/dusty/OV strong coarse/PS/pungent/bit peppery some toasty/oak no fruit finish w/ ample coarse/hard tannins; a very coarse/oafish/clunky expression of PS that has lost all its fruit & is going nowhere; a classic huge/extracted PS that age has not been kind to.
A wee BloodyPulpit:
The 2 Matieux’s are MattRorick & Matt Dees/Jornata, who were classmates at UC/Davis. The grapes come from the TennbrinkVnyd in the SuisunVlly. Made at SpencerWnry when Matt was winemaker there. This was a massive/extracted monster PS in its youth. It has gone nowhere except to lose that small amount of PS fruit it once had. I sorta expected this of the wine when I first tried it. It’s sorta like extracting a Silverback Gorilla out of the Kenya Highlands, dressing him in a cute tutu, and asking him to dance in the SwanLake ballet and then expecting some good results. Notta gonna happen.
Tom
Yup, Casey…sure seems that way. Making a massively extracted PS promises so much…but seldom
seems to deliver. But it can be done. The Ridge YorkCreek '71, tasted in te mid-'90’s, was one of the greatest
Calif red wines I ever had. I think the secret is making it w/ some balance, not going for huge extraction.
Tom
My thoughts have evolved on PS too. While I’ve had a number 10-20 years old that made me think “wow, it seems so young for a wine with this many years”, that’s really not synonymous with improvement. I’ve had only a couple that I thought improved much with age. Now I think I might as well drink them in the 4-8 year range, which gives enough time for some tannin mellowing but still retain the intensity of flavors/fruit.
I think when PS ages, it melds into something ‘different’ than what most think of as PS . . .kind of like Zinfandel.
‘Improve’ or ‘evolve’ are very subjective with regards to this variety IMHO. My experience has been that if a PS is big and extracted, once it sheds that oomph of a young wine, the skeleton that remains will not be as ‘pretty’ as it ages compared to nearly any other variety.
