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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.9 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 46 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Stufonhead on 11/17/2022 & rated 91 points: On its way down. But this bottle holding up. Oxidative smells blown off, it's more than just drinkable. Clearly expressive and complex. Impressing that it was once big and burly, now a little loose in its skin. I wonder how this makes it to day 2... (606 views) | | | Tasted by Stufonhead on 10/18/2022: Opened two bottles in a row that have reeked of flabbiness and old prunes. Feel this is what this wine has become and past few bottles have been just fortunate to have avoided aging normally. Or just these bottles were not stored appropriately. We'll see I got two more bottles, but I will have low expectations for them. (574 views) | | | Tasted by Stufonhead on 7/19/2022 & rated 92 points: Much like the prior bottle: Nose and palate notes consistent; however, I did forget to comment on the still-tannic quality immediate on PnP. Held steady for the next few hours but didn't really improve much, except that it did soften a bit. Drink now. (588 views) | | | Tasted by Stufonhead on 6/29/2022 & rated 92 points: Really good out of the bottle and improved over two hours but slowly declining onward. Nose is super with rich cigar, cassis, cocao powder, and hint of forest floor. Palate is full with very ripe blackberry with a hint of prune, and dark chocolate. With time the forest floor and prunes become more prominent, leading to some imbalance and that slight regret of not having finished it earlier creeping in - I mean I'm sitting around drinking wine - can't possibly be that resentful.
Seems passed peak but very good to drink now without need for significant aeration, in fact I wouldn't recommend it. Just pop, decant for the thick sediment, and drink with a few peeps. (612 views) | | | Tasted by galewskj on 6/23/2019 & rated 93 points: Slow o'd 4 hours. I should have decanted this, both for integration and for all the sediment. It was still quite enticing. This is a dense deep petite sirah with lively red to black fruit. There is also tobacco and earth, but the fruit is the focus here. Three of us found this wine to be relatively balanced for such a monster. 2 others were significantly annoyed by the alcohol. I felt the alcohol was balanced by the fruit, but obviously YMMV. (1682 views) | | | Tasted by Hamersly on 8/21/2017 & rated 94 points: Still needs air. Opaque purple. Dark fruits, especially plum/prune, dominate the nose and palate. Plenty of fine, sweet tannins on the extended finish. A deep, massive wine, much more about power than elegance. (2082 views) | | | Tasted by jswine15 on 11/17/2016 & rated 92 points: A huge wine, very dark color with tons of sediment. Almost over ripe in style, it was wierd to taste this after drinking more modern style california wines and remembering back to when this style was in vogue. Drink soon, not sure its going to last that much longer (2392 views) | | | Tasted by JBVino on 5/27/2015: suffered next to Turley Hayne PS of same vintage.
SBR lacked length, structure and character. Palate was one dimensional, little to no texture or secondary flavors. Not bad just ordinary. (3221 views) | | | Tasted by Gabe on 3/26/2014 & rated 93 points: This thing is huge! Dark fruits on the nose with some mocha and vanilla. Wonderful mouthfeel full of black and blue fruits. The finish goes forever. Amazingly no heat given the 16.4 alcohol level. (4179 views) | | | Tasted by tomlee on 3/9/2014 & rated 95 points: Opaque purple in color. 16.4% ABV but the wine shows not even a trace of heat. Blue fruits, crushed stones and baking spice on the nose. A complete blockbuster. Full bodied, mouth coating and powerful. Blueberry liqueur, iron, licorice, cassis and white pepper on the palate. Chalky, omnipresent tannins. The finish is endless. Drink anytime over the next decade. (3730 views) | | | Tasted by sastewart on 2/3/2014 & rated 92 points: Decanted 3 hours, still a fair amount of tannin. Not overripe, intense blackberry core with nice licorice, good minerality. 30+ second finish. Long life ahead - very nice on day 2. 92+ points (3116 views) | | | Tasted by TexasBob on 2/1/2014 & rated 90 points: Caveat: this sat in the decanter a solid week before I tried it, and was from magnum. It showed no noticeable decline whatsoever from he small sip I took immediately after decanting.
Dark as satan's soul - even under intense light there is just the slightest hint of violet at the very edge. Blackberries on the nose with lots of heat. Lovely sweet notes of blackberry and plums with the heat of schnapps. A tiny bit of tar that fades quickly and blueberry with lovely vanilla in the finish along with noticeable heat. The finish is delicious and does linger, where blueberry juice takes over for quite a spell. A bit robust for my taste, but very interesting. This could easily have evolved another decade, maybe two. (2749 views) | | | Tasted by Frank Murray III on 11/24/2013: Open and pour. Full of dark fruit, yet, not showing the heat of 2004. Just big, dark and plush, a wine for the end of the evening. PS--this was Coravin'd about 5 weeks ago but I didn't notice any difference. (2470 views) | | | Tasted by dontime on 12/31/2012: As advertised. Tons of ripe fruit, smooth and lingering. If scoring 93-95. (2201 views) | | | Tasted by gsquireh on 3/17/2012 & rated 96 points: Royal purple ebbing to a dense full-bodied black, this rich aromatic blackberry bomb is filled with cassis, lead pencil, spice and violiet. Rounded tannins and delicious long finish. (2891 views) | | | Tasted by bonedocnine on 9/25/2011 & rated 90 points: Fruit is still quite present.....there is still substantial structure noted. Nice wine that is a bit heavy but still remains enjoyable. (3118 views) | | | Tasted by hudamang on 2/2/2011 & rated 93 points: This was dark purple/black in color. Pop and poured into Cabernet glasses, it took about 30 minutes to open up and show lots of dark fruit, cocoa, blueberries. On the palate, I got massive amounts of dark ripe berries, espresso, cocoa, and rock. Massive wall of sweet tannins on the finish. Huge amount of sediments in the glass. If you describe CA Cab as Megan Fox-like, this is definitely Tera Patrick-ish. Teeth staining...this wine is like squid ink risotto... (3653 views) | | | Tasted by budman on 1/30/2011 & rated 95 points: Truly a meal in a glass. This was my first WOW wine of 2011!!!!! (3415 views) | | | Tasted by drycab on 11/29/2010: Last of a wonderful wine. Popped and poured with grilled cheeseburgers with sauteed onions, tomatoes, and cole slaw on the side. If anyone has a bugle, Taps is in order! This stuff has everything you'd want in a PS and not so huge that it overpowers everything around it. The only gripe I have with the wine is the impression of heat on the finish. That might have gone away with decanting, but we didn't give it a chance! (3045 views) | | | Tasted by Frank Murray III on 9/11/2010: Wine Dinner For The Daughter/Son-In-Law & Their Friends (The Murray Casa): The biggest of the three wines in the flight, surpassing the 2004 Turley Hayne and 2007 Carlisle Dry Creek petites. Managed to save about 3 ounces to retaste, which I am doing as I write this TN. Whereas the 2004 Turley Hayne was raisined in the nose, no raisins here but I won't lie, there is some heat in the aromatics (listed alcohol, gulp, of 16.4%). Dense, chalky and full of dark chocolate, blueberry, iron and wet rocks/tannin. Dark and generous, like a meal in a glass. Worth also noting, the palate doesn't come off as syrupy or overblown to me, as odd as that may sound. Dark and intense, yes, but the tannin and iron seem to float it all very well. In sum, this wine will need another 2-3 years, and I'll save my last bottle for 2012-2013. (3664 views) | | | Tasted by hudamang on 3/6/2010 & rated 92 points: Holy smokes, this was teeth staining. Inky black in color. Nose of cocoa powder and ripe dark fruit. On the palate, tons of currant and chocolate, mocha, with massive tannins that's controlled by the fruit. Really nice wine but needs more time. (3158 views) | | | Tasted by Frank Murray III on 6/7/2009: So sitting down to taste the petites, Kelly flighted the 04, 05 and 06 for us, out of 1/2 bottles. This 2004 was different from the other two and it showed the contrast between vintages. I have to remark here that this 2004 was not what I expected, as given the heat of the vintage and the potential ripeness challenge I was expecting, I found a different wine. Nose of blue flowers, incense and a wine that size-wise was not the giant sometimes SR can be. Yes, big but even, and don't throw me to the wolves....a sense of elegance, if I can offer that in the same context of a SR petite. Black cherry, little gamy, as much acid it seems as fruit, with terrific focus and less brawn. As the wine sits more in the glass and we talk through the others, the 2004 gets juicier with some black edged fruit but now the blueberry really pulls forward and signs the entire wine. The nose, the finish all smells of delicious blueberry notes. Inky down the sides, probably needing another 3 years in bottle but this was very impressive to me, a wine that really showed its pedigree--power and elegance together. Nice. (3356 views) | | | Tasted by gsquireh on 3/8/2009 & rated 94 points: Chewing this rich full bodied wine with its luxurious nose of pencil and licorice, black and blue fruit, surrounded by violet was a treat.The layers of cassis made it kingly. (3561 views) | | | Tasted by TRS-Wine on 12/4/2008 & rated 95 points: really awesome. drinking perfectly now w/food. holds up to big, spicy food. (3890 views) | | | Tasted by drycab on 9/19/2008 & rated 95 points: Same note as before but the right food is grilled lamb loin chops!! WOW! (3683 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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