1974-1979 Petite Sirah Blindtasting

A rare chance to taste 30-year-old Petite Sirahs—a variety that really comes into its own at the three decade mark. The complexity and variety of the noses on these wines was worth the tasting by itself. And I was amazed at Ross’s palate memory for these wines—he correctly deduced pretty much every one of them, and admitted to having unusual expertise in aged California Petite Sirah, having tasted a case or so of most of them over the years. Because the Burgesses consistently showed sweet fruit, and often Port-like noses, we also began to predict which ones were the Burgesses along with Ross. The clear favorite for the group was the Ridge entry—’77 York Creek Vineyard—a complex and impressive mature PS, but I thought the complexity and richness of the ’79 Fenestra “Shell Creek Vineyard” put it just a notch above the Ridge. My last place and the group’s 7th place was from the shortlived Mountain View producer Sommelier. It was clearly a concentrated, big wine, which might have been a real contender had it not been quite TCA tainted. Ross promises at least another ‘70s retrospective of PS’s, with a few more Ridges. I will definitely be there.

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Introduction by Ross Bott, our tasting organizer
Back in the 70s when bell bottoms and polyester were in and disco was king, Petite Sirahs were all the rage in the wine world. Winemaking in California at the time was driven by reaching the perfect specs -- the right color, acid levels and tannin, and Petites delivered on all fronts. In principle, these wines, fierce when young, would age forever.

By the end of the 70s disco drifted into New Wave and heavy metal, bell bottoms became the bottoms of bells again, and California winemakers moved away from Petite Sirahs towards more approachable varietals and styles.

But the Petites which the 70s produced didn't disappear -- they just went to sleep in the cellars. The fears that these wines would never evolve, or that the tannins would overwhelm the fruit with age have surprisingly proven unfounded for many of the best Petites. As we wake these wines up in the next (for them) millenium many are just reaching their peak now -- perhaps proving that those 70s winemakers might not have been that far off in their theories when they first made these wines.

Tonight, we'll try eight Petite Sirahs from the 1970s, with all but one having reached its 30th birthday. It will be an opportunity for us to see first hand the remarkable ageability of this varietal. Some tasting notes:

1974 Burgess, Napa Valley (13.2%): Tom Burgess, along with Paul Draper at Ridge and Jerry Luper at Freemark Abbey, were the pioneers of Petite Sirah in California. Of the three, Burgess was the only one to plant Petite in his own vineyards, near his winery half way up Howell Mountain. This 1974 was his third vintage and one of his best.

1976 Burgess, Napa Valley (13.9%): "There are strong oak notes in the rich spice and berry aromas that follow through nicely in the mouth. The wine has amplefruit under the fairly aggressive tannins to suggest a long, healthy future." (91-95/100, Connoisseurs' Guide)

1976 Sommelier, Solano (13.1%): This rare Petite is from a tiny winery in Mountain View which was only in existence for a couple years. A mere 80 cases of this wine were made.

1975 Freemark Abbey "York Creek", Napa Valley (13.8%): Beginning in th elate 1960s, both Freemark Abbey and Ridge made a series of great Petite Sirahs from Fritz Maytag's York Creek Vineyard high up on Spring Mountain in Napa Valley. By 1982, Freemark Abbey ended its run of these Petites, while Ridge continued until the early 1990s.

1975 Caymus, California (13.0%): The only Petite Caymus every made. Ink grade.

1977 Ridge "York Creek", Napa Valley (5% Zinfandel, 13.6%): One of the all-time classic vintages from Ridge. In the same spirit as Ridge using a bit of Petite Sirah in many of their Zins to add complexity, so have they added a bit of Zin to this Petite to good effect. Ridge captures the minerally, spicy side of the York Creek Vineyard while Freemark Abbey features more the powerful fruit.

1977 Burgess, Napa Valley (13.5%) (87-90/100, Connoisseurs' Guide) As this wine passes its 30th birthday, it has become a lovely, elegant wine, more reminiscent of an old Cote Rotie than a brawy Petite Sirah.

1979 Fenestra "Shell Creek Vineyard", Monterey (14.8%): Shell Creek Vineyard, on the Monterey Peninsula, has produced some of the most darkest, richest Petites in the world since the first bottlings appeared in 1977. To this day, they are one of the most sought after Petite grapes, with Clos Mimi and David Bruce, among other wineries, still making Pets from there. The 79 Fenestra from this vineyard has been a perennial winner in our tastings. A recent tasting note from one of the members of this list indicates the wine is just reaching perfection now.

• 1977 Ridge Petite Sirah York Creek 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

  Group's #1 (my #2) – 19 pts; 4, 3, 3, 0 – dark red violet color; nice earthy, porcini mushroom, roasted meat, herbes de Provence, white pepper nose; well structured palate of roasted lamb, sage, mature, intriguing flavors, but will go another 10-plus years, good acidity; medium-plus finish 92+ pts.

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• 1977 Burgess Petite Sirah Napa Valley 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #2 (my #4) – 33 pts; 1, 1, 4, 0 – medium red violet color; intriguing, focused, earthy, roasted meat and leather nose; concentrated, roasted fruit, tangy, with charcoal; medium-plus finish

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• 1975 Freemark Abbey Petite Sirah York Creek Vineyards 86 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #3 (my #7) – 38 pts; 2, 2, 1, 1 – dark red violet color; thinner, roasted meat and Balsamic nose; tangy, tart plum Balsamic, charcoal, very mature; medium finish 86+ pts.

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• 1975 Caymus Petite Sirah 87 Points

  USA, California

  Group's #4 (my #6) – 45 pts; 0, 1, 1, 1 – dark red violet color; possibly some TCA, VA, roasted fruit, celery seed and charcoal nose; tart plum and charcoal, with shitake mushroom, tangy Balsamic; medium-plus finish (“selected and bottled by”)

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• 1979 Fenestra Petite Sirah Shell Creek Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, San Luis Obispo County

  Group's #5 (my #1) – 48 pts.; 3, 1, 1, 0 – dark red violet color; focused boysenberry, roast pork, chocolate and charcoal nose; big, concentrated, blackfruit, charcoal, with a little roasted plum showing through; medium-plus finish 93+ pts.

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• 1976 Burgess Petite Sirah Harvest of the Napa Valley 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #6 (my #3) – 57 pts.; 0, 0, 1, 1 – dark red violet with pale meniscus; big blackfruit, smoke tar, charcoal and tangy beef jus nose; a little tight initially, tart plum, blackfruit, concentrated, a little hot, charcoal, pepper, sage, firm tannins; medium-plus finish 91+ pts. (opened up after 45 minutes)

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• 1976 Sommelier Petite Sirah Flawed

  USA, California, North Coast, Solano County

  Group's #7 (my #8) – 62 pts.; 0, 2, 0, 2 – black red violet color (darkest of the bunch); TCA and savory nose; hot and Balsamic palate, concentrated, though flawed, with tang and pepper; short-medium finish

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• 1974 Burgess Petite Sirah Napa Valley 88 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #8 (my #5) – 67 pts.; 0, 0, 0, 4 – medium red violet with light red meniscus; beef jus, charcoal, mineral and truffle nose; mature, tobacco, Balsamic, roasted plum palate, with chocolate on medium finish 88+ pts. (faded after 60 minutes in the glass)

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