TN: Switckback PS 2005

WINE TALK
1

Need to decide whether to take any Switchback 2007 allocation, so popped 2005 PS to try:

A lot of heat. Raisin flavor dominated, even after four days. Not a balanced wine. Is it typical of Switchback?

2

doesnt sound right to me, here are my notes from a month or so ago

  • 2005 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (8/1/2009)
    Upon opening I took a small sip before it went into the decanter for the next 6 hours. Loads of smoke, road tar, roasted ham, perfume and blue fruits. After some time in the decanter, this wine really started to open up into something nice. The nose up front is filled with ground espresso beans, black pepper, dark baking chocolate and purple fruits. Underneath this first layer you can find hints of charcoal, baking spices and a lilac flower component. On the palate this thing is a monster but somehow remains focused and balanced. Loads of blueberries, boysenberries, vanilla whipping cream, mocha and tobacco. Tannins are very much present but polished and integrated nicely with the fruit. Hints of roasted meats, brown sugar and caramelized are also there. (94 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

3

Thanks! Sounds like a different wine. I might need to pop another one to try.

4

The last time I had it, my impression’s were much more like Tylers.

5

I haven’t had the '05 in a while, but did try the '06 a couple of weeks ago and with a 4hr. decant it pretty much mirrored Tyler’s note.

6

Oh god…gulp. I can offer some studied commentary here, as if I needed to do this.
deadhorse

  • 2005 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (7/30/2009)
    Yet another bottle serves its delicious purpose and disappears quickly. Deep and intense fruit flavors, big texture and chocolate. Was the favorite of the 5 on the table over dinner and once again for me, home run. 4 left to drink–gulp…time to hit the 2ndary market again!
  • 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.
  • 2005 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (5/30/2009)
    OC Fratello Offline–Stainless Chards And Petite Sirahs (Fratello’s Laguna Niguel): oh mercy of moses…if I didn’t love this wine as much as I did in 2008, how could I even think it would be as good, even better now? Some may say I am all wet, in love with this bottling and it’s a personal preference thing…well, they would be right but given the fact that this bottle was the first of the 20 petites in the blind line up to drain first and yet, it still won as the top point and first place vote getter, it would seem others like this wine, too. Tonight, this wine just rocked: beautiful and rich, huge but silky and pure. Chalk and pure sex. Steve Nordhoff added ‘maple syrup’ to his discussion of the wine with me and I can see that. Chocolate, no heat, and richness at a ‘times 10’ rate. Amazing and still a wine that moves me each time I drink it.
  • 2005 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (11/24/2008)
    So, in the midst of having a little party last night, it was time to pull the 2005 SR petite. I had been saving it for T-giving day but I could not resist. Cork out, into the glasses. I still am amazed at the color of this stuff–it is so dark and impenetrably black, I am surprised the Reidel survives it. The density, concentration of the this bottling continues to strike me with such a blunt force of joy it’s hard to describe it. While there is still structure here, with some air, this wine is drinkable now and will of course go for some time. Even listed @ 16.4%, the wine is balance wrapped in strength. Still my favorite for my own WOTY for 2008. Amazing, just amazing.
  • 2005 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (4/6/2008)
    Listed alcohol is 16.4%. Boy, as with past vintages, like the 2004, a gigantic wine. Big and silky and yet dense with a wall of tannin that coats the tongue. Chalk, chocolate. Amazing richness and a smooth palate entry, followed by a gripping finish. This wine is a study in contrast–at one moment, sexy and polished with a wall of dark chocolate weight, measured against a huge strucuture, a wall of life ahead. A tremendous petite and made in totally neutral oak barrels, which is why I continue to buy and enjoy the SR petites. Purity and strength. Amazing.

Posted from CellarTracker

7

Yeah but, Frank, have you actually TASTED the wine?

[training.gif]

8

Oh, I tasted it, I also enjoyed it, stained my glass with it and then, only then, did I take the time to chronicle the TNs. neener . BTW, I have 4 bottles left in the cellar so at minimum, the Levine database is subject to yet 4 more entries. blahblah [worship.gif]

9

That reminds me… I need to do my 07 SBR order before the end of the month.

10

HURRY up and get your order in then pick it up in time for us to have on 10/18 [wink.gif]

11

Unfortunately pickup is monday - friday only (up in calistoga). I’ll be picking those up on the way home the next day. However, if you want an 05 Merlot or Cab added to the wine list, I can bring that instead of the 1147.

12

Well I guess I should share thoughts on my bottle …

2005 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (12/21/2008)
The wine looks like motor oil. Wow. Nostril coating chocolate, cherry alcohol and rotten prunes. Does not smell like wine but I guess there is something slightly interesting. On the palate, oh my, what in the world. This is a mess. Very hard to believe there is not new oak on this. This is chocolate, milk and vanilla. There is also fruit syrup elements. This is full bodied to the max. You can’t forget the finish. It just stays there thumping your palate. On the second (actually 3rd) day, the tannins made and appearance. Still the seemingly light tannins and very light acid made it impossible to penetrate the richness of the wine. I have never had them together but this smelled and tasted exactly like the Molly Dookers I have had and sometimes enjoyed. But at half the price I will still with the Molly Dooker. So this wine … at least on these nights, did not work for me or my wife but oh what an adventure and I am happy that it brings great pleasure to many of my friends. I really do hope I have the chance to taste this wine in 8-10 years. I am very curious to see how it evolves. (78 pts.)

13

Not my experience at all… their PS always scores in the low to mid 90s for me!!!

14

I was going to give a Mollydooker reference in my original post, but it seems like I was not alone! I will open up a Sean Thackrey Sirius instead for comparison tonight.

15

Cool. I know I put my neck on the line with the beloved SB … but I am thinking your palate may not not dial in with them. Many people that I respect and enjoy drinking with with love them … and on occasion I enjoy them as well … but they are what they are. Your descriptors seem spot on and I wonder if they might not be up your alley. Other than an occasional guilty pleasure.

Cheers,

Jason

16

Thank you Jason for your note. I usually don’t mind high alcohol as long as they are interesting in other ways. e.g. I enjoyed the most hated Martinelli Zin [swoon.gif] Maybe this SB is really an acquired taste thing.

17

I am there with you. When I had the, at the time, very young 99 Jackass Hill Zin, I was blown away. Couldn’t drink it every night but sometimes I love something full throttle.

J

18

Had the '05 as well as the '06 this past Friday night. The '05 is definitely the better of the two, but not by THAT much. I think that FMIII has it dialed in pretty much and I am in agreement with how he sees the wine.

Jason, don’t know it you got ahold of a bad bottle or you don’t like this style of wine. For me, I could drink these once a week and not get tired.

19

They are not my style, at all. I found them too big, too ripe, too spicy - basically just a lot of everything, nothing subtle about it. Both seemed in balance, but in a concentrated way.

The SQN we had, on the other hand, was a surprisingly enjoyable wine for me, as the last two times I’ve had SQN, I thought of it much like I did the Switchback.

20

I’ve drank this a couple times with Frank and have found it not really near my wheel house. Amazingly soft and oaky seeming to me though they swear they use only like 30% or maybe less new oak on these. But we know some peoples used oak is other’s new.