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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.3 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 68 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by sastewart on 1/4/2024 & rated 90 points: Opened 2 hours ahead and decanted 1. Pretty nose florals and black fruit. Initially a bit drying on the palate with less overt fruit than other bottles (4 of 6) of the 06 that I have had. Focused blackberries, cedar and licorice. Not sure where this is going but it did improve after several hours in the decanter. 90 points (316 views) | | | Tasted by kabert on 9/16/2023 & rated 93 points: Similar to my review in March 2022. Super petite sirah, black in color and pretty full bodied. Delicious from the start, but smoothed out over the course of several hours, with the acidity and tannins toning down. Has many, many years of good drinking ahead - more than 10. (303 views) | | | Tasted by galewskj on 11/27/2022 & rated 88 points: Purchased recently. I expected this to be in good shape if it wasn't damaged. Well, its not obviously damaged, just tastes old and alcoholic. The nose is still in good shape with red fruit and flowers. The palate has a lot of dried cedar and very little fruit. (791 views) | | | Tasted by redz on 10/23/2022 & rated 92 points: Agree with my review from a year ago. Needed a couple hours to open. (607 views) | | | Tasted by kabert on 3/4/2022 & rated 92 points: A super bottle of petite sirah - almost black in color, and full bodied, this was a delicious brambly bottle. Great with food (meatloaf and salad) but tasty and balanced enough to drink on its own. (843 views) | | | Tasted by redz on 8/12/2021 & rated 92 points: 2 hrs decant, still inky purple. Lush nose, smooth and full palate. Lots more time. (1114 views) | | | Tasted by kabert on 6/21/2021 & rated 91 points: Similar to the bottle from @5 weeks ago - pleasant, good dark fruit, will last for plenty more years. Went great with chicken and homegrown peas in teriyaki sauce, with rice. Still, I can’t help but compare this 2006 to the stunning and timeless 2002 PS from a month ago. (1076 views) | | | Tasted by kabert on 5/17/2021 & rated 91 points: Very tasty. Bottle shared at post-COVID gathering and it was quickly drained. This bottle showed some age, I thought (I didn’t expect any), but I’ll open another bottle soon for comparison. (907 views) | | | Tasted by davidandrose on 8/16/2020 & rated 95 points: After the fact but very impressive. Takes a long time to evolve into a velvet glove, but worth the wait (1290 views) | | | Tasted by davidandrose on 8/15/2020 & rated 93 points: Pop and four, following a 2005 Foley petite Sirah. Consumed out of syrah stems.
Earthy nose of mature fruit;This is dark and brooding, and really doesn’t indicate that it’s 14 years old. Seems like there’s still a lot of time ahead of this, though we didn’t giveIt a lot of time in the decanter (1026 views) | | | Tasted by lion@corewines.com on 3/23/2020 & rated 92 points: I love petite Syrah and in particular this producer, but the wines are meant for early drinking. This bottle was quite jammy, and at 16.4% alcohol you would expect that. We drank it quite cool, at 14C, which made it better. (919 views) | | | Tasted by wineismylife on 3/19/2019 & rated 94 points: WIML94
Tasted non blind. Opened and served immediately. Followed over about two hours.
Purple color in the glass, almost inky like in the center but clear at the rim. Deep and opaque at the center. Big nose of raspberries, blueberries, soapstone, leather, roasted meat and cassis. Flavors of raspberries, loganberries and plum. Medium acidity, medium to firm tannin, full bodied. Drink or hold. Wow. Might even be a point higher. Excellent representation of Petite Sirah. (1468 views) | | | Tasted by SommStags on 3/16/2019: Delicious (1094 views) | | | Tasted by davidandrose on 6/30/2018 & rated 92 points: Half the bottle was the cat dead while the balance was allowed to breathe for two hours. Drunk from Syrah stems. Dark purple coloring is a strong grip on the Stamms and considerable sentiment in the decanter; I did not leave the bottle upright for any period of time before opening.
Brooding nose of dark fruit, herbs and earth. Dry approach on the palate, leaves a dusty mouthfeel. Four hours after opening this is in a wonderful place – the velvet glove of a typical PS is more like buttery leather. The aroma and supple feeling let you know this is something special, like a high end leather briefcase or glove that’s well aged and broken-in. I have two more bottles and would imagine that they are good for another 5 to 8 years. (1484 views) | | | Tasted by budman on 5/21/2018 & rated 92 points: Firm tannins.... lots of dark fruit. Wish I had more. (1546 views) | | | Tasted by MotoMannequin on 12/7/2017 flawed bottle: Corked (2149 views) | | | Tasted by mgstull on 10/15/2017 & rated 90 points: Drank over 2 days. Initially a bit tight but blossomed into a ripe and juicy wine with black and red fruit. Full bodied with a medium long finish. (1649 views) | | | Tasted by Bellissimo on 8/26/2017: Big and juicy. Lots of full throttled fruit makes it a little one dimensional but PS always leaves me feeling that way. Picked up for $35 aftermarket and over delivers at that price point. (1714 views) | | | Tasted by sancarlosdoc on 7/14/2017 & rated 88 points: Normally love this wine but enjoy PS for the bright fruit which was pretty much gone. Still plenty of tannins. Did not improve with time. Not bad but not up to expectations. (1472 views) | | | Tasted by ScottPreston on 4/9/2017 & rated 90 points: Still a lot of fruit here, but getting a little one dimensional and flabby. would to have love to have tried this about 2-4 years ago. (1585 views) | | | Tasted by Jonathan T on 6/7/2016 & rated 92 points: Petite Sirah, like Zinfandel, has a broad range of styles as it is open to interpretation by the winemaker and viticulturalist. Lately I've preferred a more rustic, earthy style for these varietals. This is not that. But, it is a tasty wine. This is full-bodied, juicy, rich. It's excellent if you're looking for that big, brawny, and somewhat boozy petite. Still some tannic grit at this stage, but very drinkable. It reminds me a little bit of some Paso syrahs, especially Booker. (2050 views) | | | Tasted by oenophilemoose on 2/12/2016 flawed bottle: Purchased 7 bottles from online auction website. 4 or the 7 were flawed. Caveat Emptor. (2081 views) | | | Tasted by VinoPKM on 1/5/2016 & rated 91 points: Drank from a Mag- don't touch these and let them sleep. Needed 6 plus hours of Air and was still alive and drinking well 3 days later.
Dark fruits, inky, meaty and smoke... tastes like a Petite Sirah with some Syrah blended in. Dark as night in color.
Well done big PS. (2212 views) | | | Tasted by brianofthevine on 11/28/2015 & rated 90 points: Thick, dark, and inky. Big dark fruits, blackberry, black cherry, with some licorice and leather notes. Alcohol pretty high here and it shows, very 'hot'. Long finish, firm tannins, probably still needs to sit. (1766 views) | | | Tasted by oenophilemoose on 10/29/2015: This bottle needed two hours of decanting, otherwise the acidity prevails. (1887 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2009, IWC Issue #144
(Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (2/20/2010)
(Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard) Opaque purple violet color; grapey, primary, green herb, blackberry nose; tight, black plum, tar, lavender, anise palate, a little hot; long finish 90+ pts. (16.4% alcohol) 90 points | By Benjamin T. Weinberg
Sommelier Journal, March 2009
(Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard) Gobs of wild-berry jam blend with chewy tannins and a hint of spice and meat juice. It’s so dense that if you can keep your hands off, it may last forever. Winery Spotlight: Robert Foley Vineyards |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and RJonWine.com and Sommelier Journal. (manage subscription channels) |
| 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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