TN: Petite Sirahs on a Satruday Afternoon

PETITE SIRAHS ON A SATRUDAY AFTERNOON - ICASI (3/20/2016)

Yesterday, my wife and I went to the local cooking school for lunch. The lunch is BYO and there were 14 of us who brought some Petite Sirahs to sample. Given the size, we all took small pours and divided everything into five flights to match the foods. I love Petite, but I do think most need some time to develop.
With Tiramisu Bread and Sesame Bread
and Grilled Eggplant Involtini

  • 2013 Carlisle Petite Sirah Sonoma County - USA, California, Sonoma County
    Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries and chocolate. Tannic. On the palate, black raspberries. Strong backbone of acidity. Good finish. (91 pts.)
  • 2006 Sean Thackrey Petite Sirah Sirius Eaglepoint Ranch - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County
    This was pretty odd. A lot of people thought it was corked. I did not, but it had a dry card board note. We went back at the end and the nose was cleaned out, so it appears there was no TCA. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, spearmint, and dry cardboard which blew off. Also some Iron. The nose is warm. On the palate, much cleaner. Black raspberries, some iron. Good balance. Is this a proper bottle? Not sure. Needs air though. (92 pts.)
  • 2005 Robert Foley Petite Sirah - USA, California, Napa Valley
    This is big but tight at first. Inky purple. With some swirling it shows black raspberries with slight floral notes. On the palate black raspberries with a bit of a charred wood note. Fresh fruit on the palate. Juicy acidity. Needs time as it kept getting better. (94 pts.)

With Vegetarian Lentil Soup

  • 2012 Hammell Wine Alliance Petite Sirah Hommage a François Durif No. 1 - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
    Deep purple in color. Thinner in texture. Black cherry fruit on the palate and nose. A very nice wine but just seemed to be lacking compared to the other wines on the afternoon. A petite-lite if you would. (89 pts.)
  • 2013 Orin Swift Machete - USA, California
    What you would expect from an Orin Swift Petite. It is big and fruity and accessible. I liked it but others had some issues. Dark purple in color. The nose has dusty chocolate covered cherries. On the palate, lush black raspberries with some dark chocolate. Good acidity. Delicious. Paired nicely with a thick Lentil stew. (92 pts.)
  • 2010 Dehlinger Petite Sirah Guadagni Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
    The darkest, inkiest wine of the afternoon. It stained the glasses a lovely shade of magenta. The nose has black raspberries, licorice and iodine. On the palate, this is a big wine. Strong acidity. Good black raspberry fruit. Nice finish. This is the biggest Dehlinger wine I have ever had, but it is delicious. (92 pts.)

With Risotto Stuffed Tomato

  • 2012 Foppiano Petite Sirah - USA, California, Sonoma County
    This brought me back. There was a time I drank a lot of this. Its been a decade or so though. Purple in color. The nose is nice black raspberries. On the palate, this is soft and easy to drink. A bit thinner. Nice balance. Not as “serious” as most wines on the table, I would drink in the next five. No idea about pricing but this used to be under $20, if it is still that, this is a nice entry level PS. (87 pts.)
  • 2010 Jaffurs Petite Sirah Thompson Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
    This is still quite young. It does seem better than a bottle I remember on release. I think as a general rule, Jaffurs Petite need ten and probably more time. Inky purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, charred meat, dusty with some licorice. On the palate, tight black raspberries. Seems like once this unwinds there will be a lot of complexity. Still, it is food friendly and works well. Good finish. (92 pts.)
  • 2010 Priest Ranch Petite Sirah Somerston - USA, California, Napa Valley
    I never had this one before. It is very good. Deep purple in color. The nose has black raspberries and slight coffee grounds. On the palate, slightly sweet black raspberries. Slight drying tannins. Complex. Interesting. Very tasty. Big but not a monster wine. Plenty to time left but one to look for. (92 pts.)

With Eggplant Parmesian

  • 2002 JC Cellars Petite Sirah Frediani Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Most people around me found this to be WOTN. Purple in color. The nose has nice black raspberries, chocolate, slight dried violets. Complex and layered, yet the fruit remains fresh on the palate. Black raspberries with some dark chocolate and slight earthiness. Good acidity. A lovely wine that seem like it is just entering its maturity. Years left. (94 pts.)
  • 2013 Ridge Petite Sirah Lytton Estate - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
    On my end of the table, we were disappointed by this one. It is very good, but we hoped for more. I think the real issue is that it is just too young. It needs time to develop and put on weight. Inky purple in color. The nose is very tight with black raspberries. Thinner texture. Sinewy. Black raspberries. Densely packed. Put away for ten years. (89 pts.)
  • 2007 Scholium Project Bricco Babelico Tenbrink Vineyards - USA, California
    Abe’s wines can be a crap shoot. This one was successful. Deep purple in color. Black raspberries on the palate. On the palate, this is sweet. A fair amount of RS is left in the wine it seems. It is one of those wines that a little goes a long way. Not sure where I would serve it. Too sweet for table wine and too dry for dessert. In any event, very good on its own. I suppose holding this will reduce the sweetness level. Still drinking quite young. (92 pts.)

With Warm Cinnamon-Honey Greek Donuts

  • 2002 Turley Petite Syrah Library Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
    Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, and dried flowers with a strong barnyard aroma. On the palate, one dimensional. It is nice black raspberry fruit but not a lot of depth or complexity. Nice wine but at this age and expense, one might hope for more. (90 pts.)
  • 2000 Turley Petite Syrah Rattlesnake Acres - USA, California, Napa Valley
    I was quite surprised that this outperformed the 2001 IMO. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, slight bramble and slight earthiness. On the palate, nice complex layering. Juicy black raspberries. Nice finish. Seems to be at peak but probably will be there for another 10 years. Good finish. (94 pts.)
  • 2001 Turley Petite Syrah Rattlesnake Acres - USA, California, Napa Valley
    This is in a nice place now. Purple in color. Black raspberries, some dust slight driftwood. On the palate, this is good but I would have hoped for a bit more complexity. Still plenty of time. Slightly raisined on the palate. Perhaps this bottle saw a bit of heat. Even so, it is delciious and has a nice complexity to it. (92 pts.)

Great way to finish the season (we are skipping the finale SQN tasting).
Posted from CellarTracker

My teeth are stained just from reading this. That’s a whole lotta PS for one day.

What… no Switchback Ridge??? :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

[welldone.gif] I didn’t want to be the first to say it!

May have been the wine that would have made him spell Satruday correctly. We’ll never know.

I haven’t had the PS but Priest Ranch is a label that I like for value. The 2012 CS is big and needs a year or two but packed full of flavor and doesn’t taste hot or unbalance. We have drank the Grenache Blanc in the past and enjoyed it as well.

If you like the style, the Peacock CS is a higher bar but also a higher price tag.

Well played sir.

Great notes Lauren - sounds like an awesome afternoon (love me some PS!).

I’m not surprised the JC Cellars showed so well. They don’t seem to get a ton of love on this board, but I’ve found he’s made some great zins and PS, and that they actually age better than you’d expect. Scooped up a couple 99 zins not long ago on a whim, and was blown away with how good they were. Surprised…but really happy about it.

I’d also highly recommend the 2012 Adaptation PS. Drinking insanely well for how young it is, and one of the better PS I’ve had.

Cheers!

Interested in your take on the Bricco. I don’t imagine it would have actual RS…I think it got 3 years in barrel. I’ve not gotten that sweet impression from other vintages. Do you mean it had a fruit aspect that came across as sweet, or do you think it has actual RS? If so, the wine is big enough that it might sub for an LBV Port, don’t you think?

Loren,

Wow! That’s a heck of a collection, for sure. And as others have said, there certainly are others you ‘could have’ added to the mix - there always are!

A few comments:

Some of these seem really young and I wonder how ‘characteristic’ these wines are of what they will become. Back in the day, one would NEVER be able to open a petite sirah young without a wall of tannin and possibly acid. I know that wines are now made in a more ‘approachable’ style - I wonder how this may affect their age-ability. Would love to hear your thoughts on this, especially when looking at wines like the Carlisle.

Was this your first Hammell Alliance PS? If not, how did it compare to others. And what was the price point on this if you remember . . .

What were the ‘issues’ that others had with the Machete? The fact that it was so fruit forward? Curious to hear.

To me, the wonderful thing about the Jaffurs PSs is that they are quite approachable when young but still have the backbone to go out a few decades. Remarkable, especially for the tariff IMHO.

No surprise about the JC either - the only question to me is how these hold up with the usually elevated alc levels and extraction levels. I know that his ‘style’ has changed over the past half decade or so, but this one was when he was still making em big IIRC.

I’m not that surprised by the Ridge in all honesty. First off, that’s a young wine. Second, I don’t believe that the Lytton Springs petites have ever lived up to the older York Creek ones, and may never will. Would love your and other comments on this.

And great notes on those Turleys. Based on recent notes, they do seem to be a bit inconsistent, but still deliver a powerful pop for the money.

Cheers

I love the idea of surviving a PS tasting! I guess palates were refreshed by food?

The Somerston Priest Ranch red wines are a favorite of one of my friends. He says they are phenomenal.

The Ridge and the Jaffurs appear to almost always mandate 10 years aging.The JC Cellars surprised me, as I guessed that the wine wouldn’t show so well after so long. Very impressive.

The Turley Library red wine does include all the other interplanted stuff, right? What a let-down that it didn’t show better. The vineyard is very cool, IMO.

We opened a Dirty & Rowdy 2013 Rosewood PS yesterday and still sipping today. I am going to pull a Bricco Babelico for tonight, i have two different vintages: 06 & 08.

Larry, your experiences actually tasting the referenced wines stands almost completely opposite of my inexperienced “assumptions” about them!

I have much to learn…

Hi Larry,

Yes, many were young, but everyone brings a bottle. Some like them young, others buy what they can find, others have some in the cellars. It does seem like some are made to drink young - Machette among them. For some the up front sweetness/ripeness and big alcohol was an issue. There is often an undertow against Orin Swift wines for some.

Don’t know the price on the Hamell and it was my first one. George, who brought it, was disappointed and said he would not buy again. Others may have liked it better.

There was a lot of extraction and alcohol on the JC. I am one who does not think that hurts ageability. I have been listening for 20 years now to people tell me it does, but the proof is in the glass.

Have not had many Lytton PS at this point. Of course, i love York Creek. I do have some LS in the cellar so eventually I will try more.

Turleys can be great but they are not inexpensive wines for PS.

I happened to open a Thackrey '07 Eaglepoint PS over the weekend. Kinda weird on that one too. Lots of the menthol/Asian spice thing going on. Decanted for only an hour.

Thanks Loren.

Actually, I brought one to a lunch back in February. Don’t think Loren was there. Miss a week, miss a lot … I didn’t think anything Saturday was as good as the Switchback.

Petite Sirah
2007 SwitchBack ridge
Peterson family vineyard
Napa Valley

. Huge rich, earthy nose evokes a chocolate milkshake, then golden raisins, and finally pepper and sage. Opens with definition vice more fat; big alcohol almost fully balanced. Solid as a rock, yet turns sweet in glass against varietal tannins. Slightly expansive, with some detail opening on latter palate. Quite long. 95