Petite Sirah (93%) and Zinfandel (7%) from the York Creek vineyard in Napa Valley. Fermented spontaneously, a portion of the grapes as uncrushed, whole bunches, aged in used American oak barrels. 12,7% alcohol.
Deep, remarkably dense and almost fully opaque yet not noticeably concentrated blackish-red color. The nose feels somewhat restrained and moderately evolved with dry aromas of raisiny dark fruit, some coffee tones, a little bit of blackberry marmalade, light meaty notes, oxidative hints of soy sauce and a touch of earth. The wine is evolved and somewhat tertiary yet still surprisingly lively on the palate with a medium body and rather intense flavors of wizened dark berries, meaty umami, some ripe chokeberry tones, a little bit of beef jerky, light oxidative notes of soy sauce, a hint of tobacco and a touch of savory old wood spice. The overall feel is quite firm and structured, thanks to the rather high acidity and still quite assertive yet not aggressive tannins. The finish is rich yet dry and rather grippy with long, savory flavors of raisiny dark fruits, some meaty umami, a little bit of wizened blackcurrant and blackberry, light yet somewhat noticeable streak of chokeberry bitterness, a hint of earth and an oxidative touch of beef jerky.
An excellent, wonderfully evolved Petite Sirah made in a very stern and dead-serious old world style. The wine is definitely not about fruit and richness, but instead about savory complexity and structure. There's no way one could call this a crowdpleaser, but if one finds enjoyment in leaner old wines like old-school Bordeaux, this is very much cut from the same cloth. This is not a wine that is built to be impressive, but instead one to age for a long time and pair well with food. As the wine was somewhat restrained upon opening, I recommend letting it breathe for an hour or so and then pairing it with dishes that can tone down the structure and the slightly bitter elements in the taste. I found the wine to be very rewarding despite its rather tough nature, but I doubt it will age much from here. Drink or keep, but don't expect it to evolve much. Priced according to its quality at 58€.
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Drinking nicely now and definitely not going to get any better. I had the 95 and 96 within the last few days, and by comparison the 94 is significantly less charming than those. The tannins are a little bit rough against a backdrop of lighter fruit and a whiff of mustiness. Drink up.
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Dark red-garnet color. Nose is elegant of ripe fruit, roasted grape skin, touch of American oak. Soft tannin and balanced acidity. Musky ripe roasted sour cherry pie flavor. Easy drinking and fully mature. Short finish but I don't care. Any $6.99 wine from this vintage that shows this well was exceptionally well made and fairly priced. Bottle #5 of six. Alcohol: 13.5%
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The secret to good Petite Sirah is to know to wait. And to wait. And to wait. So at 20 years of age, this wine is mature, yet may still have upside potential.
Petite Sirah has been known for some time to be Duriff, but the resemblance of this wine to a good, mature Hermitage is remarkable. The wine has power, yet it also shows the smoothness and richness that age can bring, along with dark plum and cherry fruit. This is a thrilling wine, but, alas, is my only bottle.
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Not sure why this is listed as mid-80s by the consensus, even though it's somewhat over the hill. Nothing wrong here. This is an interesting a flavorful wine. Just wish I'd had it 5-10 years ago. But you should look for more petite sirahs. Good red, but different.
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The profile of this wine is very similar to my last bottle. However, the acid and tannin are much less pronounced. Distinctly old world in style. Based on this bottle maybe 3-4 more years will bring improvement.
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Lifted nose of blueberry, cedar, cigar ash and boot polish. There is also a slighty green, tart, almost citrus aroma (gooseberry?). The palate shows earthy black fruit, green tobacco and lots of very dry, coarse tannin. Hard tannic finish with bracing acidity. Age has not been kind to this wine.
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11/27/2021 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points
Petite Sirah (93%) and Zinfandel (7%) from the York Creek vineyard in Napa Valley. Fermented spontaneously, a portion of the grapes as uncrushed, whole bunches, aged in used American oak barrels. 12,7% alcohol.
Deep, remarkably dense and almost fully opaque yet not noticeably concentrated blackish-red color. The nose feels somewhat restrained and moderately evolved with dry aromas of raisiny dark fruit, some coffee tones, a little bit of blackberry marmalade, light meaty notes, oxidative hints of soy sauce and a touch of earth. The wine is evolved and somewhat tertiary yet still surprisingly lively on the palate with a medium body and rather intense flavors of wizened dark berries, meaty umami, some ripe chokeberry tones, a little bit of beef jerky, light oxidative notes of soy sauce, a hint of tobacco and a touch of savory old wood spice. The overall feel is quite firm and structured, thanks to the rather high acidity and still quite assertive yet not aggressive tannins. The finish is rich yet dry and rather grippy with long, savory flavors of raisiny dark fruits, some meaty umami, a little bit of wizened blackcurrant and blackberry, light yet somewhat noticeable streak of chokeberry bitterness, a hint of earth and an oxidative touch of beef jerky.
An excellent, wonderfully evolved Petite Sirah made in a very stern and dead-serious old world style. The wine is definitely not about fruit and richness, but instead about savory complexity and structure. There's no way one could call this a crowdpleaser, but if one finds enjoyment in leaner old wines like old-school Bordeaux, this is very much cut from the same cloth. This is not a wine that is built to be impressive, but instead one to age for a long time and pair well with food. As the wine was somewhat restrained upon opening, I recommend letting it breathe for an hour or so and then pairing it with dishes that can tone down the structure and the slightly bitter elements in the taste. I found the wine to be very rewarding despite its rather tough nature, but I doubt it will age much from here. Drink or keep, but don't expect it to evolve much. Priced according to its quality at 58€.
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11/12/2014 - robmatic wrote: 88 Points
Drinking nicely now and definitely not going to get any better. I had the 95 and 96 within the last few days, and by comparison the 94 is significantly less charming than those. The tannins are a little bit rough against a backdrop of lighter fruit and a whiff of mustiness. Drink up.
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10/4/2014 - Hodby wrote: 88 Points
Dark red-garnet color. Nose is elegant of ripe fruit, roasted grape skin, touch of American oak. Soft tannin and balanced acidity. Musky ripe roasted sour cherry pie flavor. Easy drinking and fully mature. Short finish but I don't care. Any $6.99 wine from this vintage that shows this well was exceptionally well made and fairly priced. Bottle #5 of six. Alcohol: 13.5%
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9/5/2014 - cfk49 wrote: 92 Points
The secret to good Petite Sirah is to know to wait. And to wait. And to wait. So at 20 years of age, this wine is mature, yet may still have upside potential.
Petite Sirah has been known for some time to be Duriff, but the resemblance of this wine to a good, mature Hermitage is remarkable. The wine has power, yet it also shows the smoothness and richness that age can bring, along with dark plum and cherry fruit. This is a thrilling wine, but, alas, is my only bottle.
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2/17/2014 - levinml wrote: 89 Points
Not sure why this is listed as mid-80s by the consensus, even though it's somewhat over the hill. Nothing wrong here. This is an interesting a flavorful wine. Just wish I'd had it 5-10 years ago. But you should look for more petite sirahs. Good red, but different.
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12/4/2007 - pgordon62 wrote: 87 Points
The profile of this wine is very similar to my last bottle. However, the acid and tannin are much less pronounced. Distinctly old world in style. Based on this bottle maybe 3-4 more years will bring improvement.
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7/2/2007 - pgordon62 wrote: 84 Points
Lifted nose of blueberry, cedar, cigar ash and boot polish. There is also a slighty green, tart, almost citrus aroma (gooseberry?). The palate shows earthy black fruit, green tobacco and lots of very dry, coarse tannin. Hard tannic finish with bracing acidity. Age has not been kind to this wine.
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