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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.8 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 47 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by kabert on 1/29/2023 & rated 91 points: Not a bombshell like Switchback PS’s can be - perhaps a tad lighter in fruit concentration than I’m used to. That said, the bottle was an auction purchase, so I need to try one of my two other bottles soon in the interest of science and accurate and consistent tasting notes. The uninitiated would still call this bottle a bombshell, I expect. Still plenty of tannic bite. (597 views) | | | Tasted by tomlee on 4/24/2021 & rated 94 points: Opaque purple in color. 16.5% ABV. Heady nose of blue and black fruits, molten licorice and Whitman Sampler box. Full bodied with plenty of acidity. Immense and concentrated. The balance is impressive. Blueberry, blackberry liqueur, iron and chocolate on the palate. The finish is exceptionally long. You have to know you audience when you serve a wine like this but I am absolutely a fan. Best over the next 8-10 years. (1534 views) | | | Tasted by Frank Murray III on 11/8/2020: A couple squirts from a Coravin'd bottle. This continues to hold up well, resembling some of the same flavors as the bottle I had over a year ago. Plenty of energy, charcoal, red and black fruit, some bitter chocolate. I remember many years ago tasting the 2009 from barrel with Kelly Peterson during a visit. Even at that time I had some sense the vintage would be favorable for a wine that would go quite a distance. Whatever I noticed at that time, it's played out to be true. Plenty of life ahead, no loss of fruit...still on an ascending trajectory. (2112 views) | | | Tasted by markcic on 7/26/2020 & rated 92 points: A really nice bottle of wine. Opened and let sit for an hour or so then started pouring small amounts into our glasses. Very dark in color with a nose of plum and olive. The palate was dark berries, plums, mocha, black tea and Asian spices. A long smooth finish. Had not tried a bottle in almost two years and according to my notes it was the same. The last of my 2009s. (1800 views) | | | Tasted by Frank Murray III on 9/1/2019: This has been open about 3 hours, finishing the last pour. Note--there was a lot of sediment in this wine, as it was stored well on its side where it all had collected. This is a very good vintage for SR PS, as it manages to walk the line between big fruit and solid structure, using both well. Inky dark, stains the glass with a dark, fresh blackberry fruit, charcoal, iron and some minerally tannin. This is just starting to enter the drink window and based on the stuffing, I'd think this will drink well for the next 5-7 years. (2541 views) | | | Tasted by Night Train on 6/24/2019 & rated 90 points: Color is almost black - probably the darkest I've ever seen in a wine. Black and blue fruits on the nose, with hints of Asian spices and licorice. On the palate, it was blackberries, blueberries and a fair amount of chocolate. Very rich and quite viscous, although the finish was merely OK. The high alcohol was somehow not noticeable. Still quite tannic, but not painfully so and barely noticeable with rich or fatty foods. Needless to say, it probably hasn't peaked has has a long life ahead of it. (1743 views) | | | Tasted by IAmVintage on 12/9/2018 & rated 93 points: Just couldn't wait for the 10th birthday, for which we typically hold our petites at a minimum, but the right meal and friends on a special evening demanded it! Magnum, aerated, filtered, decanted & rested for an hr before serving with braised short ribs, spiced couscous & roasted rainbow carrots. Proved to be an excellent representation of the breed really drinking well now. The deepest depths of black-n-blue fruit balanced with softened tannins, acidity and brambly dark herbs. Oh yes, and a nice longggg teeth staining finish. This is what Petite Sirah is all about. NOT an overly extracted fruit bomb and I'd not have [blind] guessed the high ABV (some things I can't always say about a Robert Foley product ;-). Gotta luv Calistoga Petite Sirahs... Peterson Family, Biale, Vincent Arroyo. (1408 views) | | | Tasted by gmbdds on 12/6/2018 & rated 92 points: Notes of dark fruit and anise. This is big, thick and a slow drinker, all the while it drinks fresher than its 16.5% alc., with pretty floral tones and a savory profile. If anything, it's a little young at age 9. (1225 views) | | | Tasted by markcic on 8/18/2018 & rated 92 points: A really beautiful bottle of wine. Opened and let sit for an hour or so then started pouring small amounts through a soiree into our glasses. Very dark in color with a nose of plum and olive. The palate was dark berries, plums, mocha, black tea and Asian spices. A long smooth finish. My guess is that it is just in the beginning of a long perfect drinking window. This wine has years and years to go. Paired with grilled filet mignon and grilled vegetables. A really good match. (1449 views) | | | Tasted by Drankthewholebottle on 3/18/2018 & rated 92 points: Decanted and filtered, most of the 1/2 tsp if heavy sediment remained in the bottle with some residual sugar sneaking through. A completely opaque ox blood that you literally cannot see the fucking sun through with some fine sediment cycling on the miniscus. The nose is sharply focused on campfire and German blackberry liquor with hints of light floral notes. The palate has smoky bramble candy, lamb fat, sweet tobacco, blueberry and dark chocolate. There’s a nice lift on the finish revealing chalky and floral olive with bay leaf. The alcohol is well resolved but still hitting hard. (1457 views) | | | Tasted by Night Train on 3/15/2018 & rated 90 points: Opened about 60 minutes before tasting. Needs more air time and/or decanting at this point. Black and blue fruits on the nose, along with a whiff of charcoal. Same on the palate. Big, nasal cavity-filling fruit. Good (not great) finish. Still quite tannic, although the alcohol was barely noticeable. OK now with decanting or aeration. Otherwise, hold until at least 2020. (1287 views) | | | Tasted by markcic on 12/22/2017 & rated 92 points: Well it has been a year since I last tired a bottle and it is still a beautiful wine. Dark berries on the nose. The palate is dark berries, chocolate and spice. A nice full lengthy finish. (1389 views) | | | Tasted by hanasowner on 11/23/2017 & rated 88 points: Two hours in the decanter with lot of swirling along the way...dark purple...lots of alcohol on the nose at first, but dark fruit came through in the glass...medium finish...decent PS from SBR, but have had much better from SBR. (1339 views) | | | Tasted by Frank Murray III on 10/30/2017: My final 2009, this drank well yesterday. Did not take formal notes but I did recall a good correlation with how it tasted from barrel back in 2010. At that time, and yesterday too, there is a leaner, more moderate feel to the wine, buffered by good acidity, iron and energy. And worth also calling out, this was listed at 16.5% and yet I didn't get any booze coming at my nose. Good showing overall. (1611 views) | | | Tasted by hanasowner on 8/19/2017 & rated 91 points: Popped and poured...agree with previous posters that tannins have softened considerably...medium finish. (1453 views) | | | Tasted by bplant13 on 6/20/2017 & rated 93 points: Such great consistency with this PS. Big nose and body filled with blue and black berries. Big tannins but well integrated. A meal in a bottle! Should last another 5+ years easily. 93+ (1429 views) | | | Tasted by awineo on 5/4/2017 & rated 94 points: Great Petite. Still has a lot of "grip". Probably will get a little softer in the next 5 to 10 years. (1450 views) | | | Tasted by George Lopez on 1/15/2017 & rated 94 points: We really enjoyed this wine. It had great fruit and wasn't overly tannic, and the finish was nice and long. Very satisfying! (1546 views) | | | Tasted by markcic on 12/18/2016 & rated 92 points: At Adam's birthday dinner, opened and poured through a vintorio over two hours, dark fruit on the nose, the palate is dark berries and chocolate with a hint of spice. A nice full finish. This wine is still young and has years of development ahead of it. I won't open another bottle for a year and will give it at least a 6 hour decant. (1462 views) | | | Tasted by River Rat on 11/29/2015: 3 years since my last taste. It was a long day working on the house in cold weather and I needed something to warm my soul. This wine is bigger than I remember. As dense and extracted as any PS I have ever had. Black as night, viscous, loaded with black fruit, cocoa, and chewy chalky tannins. Just a hedonistic, tooth staining, stick to the roof of your mouth pleasure that every once in a while is just the right fit. Warning, may become habit forming. (2417 views) | | | Tasted by brianngibson on 9/1/2015 & rated 91 points: Popped the bottle twice accesed via Coravin over the last 12 months. No evidence of oxidation or flaws. Notes are consistent with those from Sept 2014. Musty, blueberry ... Good but not tremendous complexity, and no development over past year. (2085 views) | | | Tasted by drdan8 on 7/3/2015 & rated 91 points: Rich, extracted, and explosive on both the nose and palate. Hints of mixed dark berries, bramble, and black currant. Coats the mouth with a plethora of fruit with medium tannin. A nice rendition of Petite Syrah with little restraint. Needs charred meat or traditional barbecue to do battle with. Not much complexity or finesse, but I don't think that was the intention here. (2177 views) | | | Tasted by brianngibson on 9/30/2014 & rated 92 points: Via Coravin. Coravin seems ideal for a wine like this that is very hard to consume a full bottle in one night between two people. A bit musty at first, but blueberry dominates the palate. Chocolate, stones, and vanilla. A big wine no doubt, but some acidity lightens it up a bit. (2851 views) | | | Tasted by jfurey21 on 5/4/2014 & rated 88 points: This wine is too young. I am learning more about foley wines. They need at least 7-8 years to age. This has an alcohol edge that is not pleasant. If you want to drink now decant at least two hours as it mellowed a bit. This needs time to integrate. Maybe 2 more years. Should age for at least another 10 (3152 views) | | | Tasted by brigcampbell on 1/26/2013: Dinner with Friends (FMIII in the OC): Dark as motor oil. Great petite fruit flavor, very expressive, and notes of tar toward the end. There's a good shot of alcohol in here and it's noticeable. Tannins are still very firm, quite stiff actually. This wine is a baby. (4622 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Switchback Ridge Producer website
Switchback Ridge Wines are sourced exclusively from the Peterson Family Vineyard in Calistoga. The property has been in the Peterson family since 1914 and encompasses nearly 100 acres located at the mouth of Dutch Henry Canyon. For over 75 years the property was primarily maintained as a farm and plum orchard, with vines intermingled amongst the trees. In 1990, the orchards were replanted to vineyard, where there are currently 18 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah vines, in addition to a three acre 50+ year old Petite Sirah block that John Peterson helped plant as a child.Petite Sirah Varietal character (Appellation America) | P.S. I Love You: A Petite Sirah Advocacy Organization
Petite Sirah is a variety of red wine grape grown in France, California, Israel and Australia. Recently, wineries located in Washington State's Yakima Valley, Maryland, Arizona, West Virginia, Mexico, Chile's Colchagua Valley and Maipo Valley, and Ontario's Niagara Peninsula have also produced wines from Petite Sirah grapes. Though developed in France, it is nearly extinct there as of 2002, hanging on in limited plantings in the Isère and Ardêche regions of the Rhône Valley and in Palette, a tiny appellation in Provence. It is the main grape known in the US and Israel as Petite Sirah with over 90% of the California plantings labeled "Petite Sirah" being Durif grapes; the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms recognizes "Durif" and "Petite Sirah" as interchangeable synonyms referring to the same grape. The grape originated as a cross of Syrah pollen germinating a Peloursin plant. On some occasions, Peloursin and Syrah vines may be called Petite Sirah, usually because the varieties are extremely difficult to distinguish in old age.
The 'petite' in the name of this grape refers to the size of its berries and not the vine, which is particularly vigorous. The leaves are large with a bright green upper surface and paler green lower surface. The grape forms tightly packed clusters that can be susceptible to rotting in rainy environments. The small berries creates a high skin to juice ratio which can produce very tannic wines if the juice goes through an extended maceration period. In the presence of new oak barrels the wine can develop an aroma of melted chocolate.
Petite Sirah produces dark, inky colored wines that are relatively acidic with firm texture and mouth feel. The bouquet has herbal and black pepper overtones, with plum and blackberry flavors on the palate. Compared to Syrah, the wine is noticeably more dark and purplish in color. The wines are very tannic with aging ability that can eclipse 20 years in the bottle.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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