March 21, 2018 - If you are going to drink this one, the time is now. Still inky purple to the rim, with flavors of blackberries, blueberries, and licorice. I was worried that I had left it in the bin too long, but luckily it is drinking at its prime. No need to let it breath, but I recommend to run it through a fine screen. Lots of sediment. I still have a few bottles and plan to finish them this year. Great nose, smooth tannins, medium to long finish.
September 9, 2017 - Rich purple color. Love the smoky, savory aspects on the nose (grilled bell peppers, black pepper, mushroom, charred meat), on top of some black currant and blackberry compote flavors. Full and bold but has fleshed out with age, showing moderately-structured tannins with rounded edges and medium/low acidity. Black cherry and dark plum fruit is still holding on, but the fruit is doused in grilled meats, beef drippings and cracked black pepper, along with mushroom broth and fallen leaves. Gorgeous non-fruit complexity, but this wine isn’t done yet – it’s still put together well for at least five more years. Includes 3% co-fermented Viognier, aged in about 25% new French and American oak.
August 22, 2010 - finally drank this one. very good nose with earth, fruit and some vanilla - but not over done. I liked it quite a bit. Tannins are settled, but not exactly fine or silky....
Big in the mouth and tasty flavors - the blend is a good one here. I recommend this style and this wine in particular.
Nice finish. modest complexity, but not exactly simple. if you have some of this, drink or hold for a couple more years, but let it evolve over several hours - we popped and poured (maybe 15 minutes of breathing) and it was gone in an hour or so. Probably a disservice to the wine.
Went well with steak and grilled veggies.
December 19, 2009 - Red fruit, ripe cherries and a bit of pie cherry in here. Spice in nice with black pepper and some earth. Right amount of oak and lingers on the palate for about 20 seconds. One of the best Petite Syrah's I've had in the $25 to $35 dollar range.
November 20, 2009 - a really tasty wine, very full body almost buttery, flavorful (almost overwhelmingly so but in a good way) perhaps some chocolate or coffee notes
September 22, 2008 - Dark ruby red, medium-full body. Dark plum with raspberry, moderate oak with dusty tannins, long finish. Excellent value.
July 28, 2008 - Bright fruit. A little spiciness in there. Medium plus bodied with medium tannins. Not the monster that I thought it would be. Made in a more fruit forward PS style. Finishes dry and clean, with plenty of acidity here. There's actually quite an impressive backbone to this wine. Very well made, and joins some of the other great value $20 Petite sirah's out there.
May 24, 2008 - I believe this is my first petite sirah. This is an austere wine with very low acidity. The aroma is mostly oak, with some tarry plum, herb, and a faint, intangible complexity. Lots of oaky vanilla flavor, strong tannins. Something about this wine made me feel like it was at its best now--as a tannic, masculine wine--but I have no experience with petite sirah.
The next day, this picked up strong pepper and bitter herb, especially fennel, that leaves a long aftertaste. Chocolate overtones. Significantly more complex than last night. Can't say I'm terribly fond of this flavor profile, but this is one memorable wine.
March 24, 2008 - Some mags gave it high scores (like 93 or 94), so I thought I would get a couple bottles - for $20, why not? Day 1 score something like 89-90. A true Petite Sirah, super dark in color, good nose, but a lot of tannin - it screamed for steak. Maybe not as thick as an Outpost, but still a big wine. Day 2 this wine has found its sweet spot. Lots of plum, much softer than yesterday, but still very full bodied. This wine will age for a while before it really hits its stride. I am quite happy I picked it up. Day 2 score something like a 92. Excellent QPR.
December 11, 2007 - NOTE: This is an edited transcript of my blog entry for this wine at The PSychos' Path (http://psychospath.blogspot.com/).
Early in my adventures into the wonderful world of all things PS, I came across (courtesy of Loweeel) what I believe to be a fairly unique PS-centric blend, the 2004 Parducci Petite Sirah True Grit. Unique because I have yet to find a blend of PS (89%), Syrah (8%) & Viognier (3%) elsewhere. I have been dying to find out what that was like. I secured a couple of bottles a month or so ago, waiting patiently for the right occasion to sample this wine, and so, after four hours or so of decanting earlier today, here we are…
If I could see through it, I just know that the True Grit would be clear as day (and I hope that makes sense to someone other than me), but it is the deepest velvet purple, bordering on black, incredibly dark & highly extracted, with thin but prominent candle wax drip legs that its relatively high (14.5%) alcohol content demands.
The nose is surprisingly moderated, but not muted, dominated by blackberry & black cherry, with a hint of black pepper & dark chocolate (or is it burnt caramel?), a totally unexpected element of leather & moss, and (of course) elusive & uber-faint floral accents deep in the background (amazing what a dollop of Viognier can do).
The mouth exhibits moderate acidity; tannins that make their presence felt; a nano-drop of sweetness that is a nano-drop too much for me; a medium body that is a bit leaner than I expect in PS (but, then again, I remind myself that this isn’t 100% PS); and a flavor profile to largely match that of its aromas, with the exception that the earthen qualities of the nose have been replaced with a permeating but mild trace of quinine or (if this makes more sense to others) tonic water. This actually works for me in this wine, and I love it, but I would strongly caution that this is not for the faint of heart.
The finish goes on for a glorious 20+ seconds. Hmmm...
The True Grit is a relatively well balanced wine of moderate complexity & very good to excellent quality that packs a flavor punch that comes somewhat from left field. It is very approachable now but would likely benefit from a couple of years of cellaring, although I would guess that this a 10-year wine & not your typical 15- to 25-year PS. Check in with me when I open my remaining bottle after 2010.
I really liked it. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. But only to those who have tread the PSycho Path for some time.