A Tasting of Petite Sirahs

Last night I had some friends over to a tasting of Petite Sirah. my wife and I love this grape and have a lot of it in the cellar. i keep hearing people saying they don't drink much, so I organized this to try some wines, have some fun, and get a perspective on the grape. All of the wines were from my cellar (except the one indicated) which was added by a friend. The corks were popped at 6:00 and we started at 7:30 and drank for 3.5 hours. Breads and cheese were served. Overall, a good tasting with some over achievers and under performers. The intersting thing was 7 out of 10 wines got at least one first place vote. Those that didn't finished in the middle of the pace and got 2 or 3 second or third place votes. No wine did worse than 2 third place votes. I suspect that was due to the many styles of the wines and the varied age. Something for every palate. Prices of the wines ranged from $10 to $100 on release.

• 2003 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 89 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  Bought on release, I drank a bunch of these and prior vintages. This was the last one as I decided the wine had dropped in quality and escalated in price with its surge of popularity. All but this were drunk in the first year, but I held on to this for fun. Light gold in color. On the nose, these is some honey notes, a bit of tropical fruit, some minerals and a slight waxy note. On the palate, it tastes fresh although nowhere near what it was like on release. Much more like a Sancerre. It has a nice complexity although turns a slight bitter at the finish. Pretty surprising showing for this wine.

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• 2002 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Mont Flawed

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  This was an off bottle. Funny, I would have assumed this was the 03 Cloudy Bay that had started to oxidize. Nope. This is deep golden. The nose shows a fair amount of oxidation with some fruit. Better on the palate, showing some pineapple, but also oxidation. Bitter. Got worse as the night progresses. That's a shame. Bought on release.

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• 2000 Turley Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Inky purple in color, slightly flat. The nose has some oak with raspberry jam qualities. Nice texture. On the palate, blueberries, blackberries, cedar with a nice acidity. Got better as the night progresses. Bought on release at the winery. No hurry here.

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• 1998 Mirassou Vineyards Petite Sirah 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey County

  A sentimental wine. This was our house wine for a few vintages back in the day. Then they sold out (to Gallo?), ripped up the vines and no more. This was my last bottle which cost closer to $10. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose is more dark cherry, but nice. Nice texture. Not the most complex. Showing more dark cherry notes than the other wines. Nice wine. when it was revealed, I was impressed how well it had held up all these years. Wish they still made it.

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• 2005 Chateau Montelena Petite Sirah 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This is an exclusive release from Sherry Lehman every year. Opaque purple in color. The nose is dusty and tight. With air it gets this gummy note but also a sort of pickle brine. Not terrible but not great. OTOH, the palate is much better. Black raspberries with some depth. A bit earthy. Very supple texture. Long finish. Quite a disconnect to the nose.

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• 1999 EOS Petite Sirah Estate 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Another wine I used to drink a lot of on release. My last bottle. From Paso Robles back when the east-side was where all the action was. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries but also some cocoa. Great texture. Juicy and velvety. Black raspberries and blueberries. Long finish. This is drinking at its peak now IMO but no hurry. Wonder why I never see it anymore.

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• 1992 La Jota Petite Sirah Thompson Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  The oldest wine in the batch. At twenty years, I thought it showed slight age, but not much really. Purple in color. The nose has cedar, its a bit dusty with blueberries and black raspberries. Silky texture. Plenty of black raspberry fruit and plenty of tannins. There is some depth here. Not sure where it goes, but worth paying attention to. Of course, what wine isn't at the twenty year mark.

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• 2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Petite Sirah 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Mine and the groups WOTN. I assume this was a Bob Foley wine. Inky in color, shimmering bright. The nose is great, best on the table. Black raspberries, licorice, leather. On the palate, sweet fruit. Black raspberries and blueberries. Slight alcohol notes. Firm tannins. Just delicious. No hurry, but its great today.

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• 2006 Jaffurs Petite Sirah Thompson Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  The group liked this more than I (#2). I found it the youngest and tightest of the wines. Inky purple in color. The nose is great. Explosive with boysenberries, smoke, blueberries, and leather. On the palate, I found it sweet and a bit cloying. Air did not help. I think its in an awkward stage right now. Late in the evening, it started to come together (I rated it lower earlier) and that gives me confidence in other bottles that I will wait on.

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• 2009 Tres Sabores Petite Sirah 85 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Calistoga

  The only wine not from my cellar. This was purchased by Tom R. direct at the winery. My first time trying it. Of course it was very young. Inky purple in color. The nose has black raspberries and plenty of oak. For me it was fresh cut and cocoa although Lou mentioned a lot of vanilla. On the palate, more cocoa with some black raspberry fruit. Very tannic. A tarragon note on the finish. Shut down right now? Maybe so and so the oak dominates. I would hold these for a while to sort itself out.

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• 1997 Ridge Petite Sirah York Creek 86 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

  Not a good showing for this and quite a surprise when it came in last for the group. No obvious flaws (it did get one WOTN vote). opaque purple in color. The nose is dusty but not much else going on. Raspberries and chocolate on the palate, but a bit thin. Its a nice wine, but lacking. I bought this about 7 years ago from a retailer with good storage, but who knows.

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• 1994 Stags' Leap Winery Petite Sirah 87 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Another disappointing showing. Purple in color. The nose is dusty with some black raspberries. Thinner on the palate. Tart with drying tannins. There is nice fruit (blueberries), but I would have hoped for better. Bought about 10 years ago as a re-release.

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BTW, every wine spells it Sirah except Turley who uses Syrah, but Cellartracker seems to give it the Sirah spelling. Anyway, a very educational and fun tasting.