Christian Miller (CMM)
Christian Miller
A tasting of Petite Sirahs, stretching from babies to old greybeards. The longevity of well-made PS from good vineyards is remarkable. It's an excellent wine to lay down from birth years. All wines served blind.
Petite Sirah Mexico Guadalupe Valley 2007, L.A. Cetto - dark young purple; grapy grapy young fruit, like boiled berries, almost carbonic and sweet, quite zesty, young and simple, with medium acidity and moderate tannins. Not bad wine, but a strange style for PS. So young it tasted like a tank sample. *(**?)
Petite Sirah Paso Robles 2003, Victor Hugo - dark garnet; deep bush blackberry with mild pepper note; simple round vigorous jammy fruit with ok acid, medium length, round and mouthcoating. **(*)
Petite Sirah Napa Valley Dynamite Hill 1997, Ridge - slightly musty with a pleasant mushroom tone, sweet old oak, earthy maturing fruit; round full and soft on the palate, lowish acid, mellowing tannins, medium-long finish. Strangely mature - normally this wine evolves at a glacial pace. ***/****
Petite Sirah Napa Valley York Creek 1990, Ridge - medium dark garnet; smoky, stately mature fruit with plummy-spice tones, a touch of cedar; lively on the palate with substantial fruit, medium-full body, not that long. ***(*?)
Petite Sirah Napa Valley 1984, Stags Leap Vineyard - dark garnet with brick tinge; smoky oak over cracked pepper opens to nice mature dusty -berry fruit; medium acidity, brawny substantial fruit, fairly dry structured tannins, long woodsy-tannic-iron finish. ***(*)
Petite Sirah Napa Valley 1983, Rosenblum - bricky red, thinning at edge; baked dusty fruit with an attactive pate de fruit character; maturing but still significant tannins; quite long but simple. ***
Petite Sirah Napa Valley York Creek 1978, Freemark Abbey - medium dark garnet; sweet oak vanilla with a marzipan touch over berry jam; big ripe fruit galumphing along in massive tannic galoshes, like Napa cult wine framed in Madiran tannins. Pretty intense stuff - "epic" PS? **(**?)
Petite Sirah Napa Valley 1976, Robert Mondavi - dark bricky garnet; mature smoky-dusty earthy baked fruit with a "volcanic" tone; complex on the palate with mature sweet berry fruit, Rutherfordish dust, clay and sage notes; dry dusty long finish; decayed with air but terrific while it lasts. ****
A few days later, another old vine throwback, this time white...
Chenin Blanc Napa Valley Pocai Old Vines 2008, Ballentine - pale; bright aroma featuring quince-pear-apple fruit with a touch of hay; light and zesty fruit jumps onto the palate but then it deepens with some grip and length on the palate, good acidity, terrific balance. This must be one of the jolliest wines in Napa. I suspect it would age well, but I can never stop myself from drinking it young. Bravo to Ballentine for keeping these old Chenin vines in the heart of Cab country. ****
Petite Sirah Mexico Guadalupe Valley 2007, L.A. Cetto - dark young purple; grapy grapy young fruit, like boiled berries, almost carbonic and sweet, quite zesty, young and simple, with medium acidity and moderate tannins. Not bad wine, but a strange style for PS. So young it tasted like a tank sample. *(**?)
Petite Sirah Paso Robles 2003, Victor Hugo - dark garnet; deep bush blackberry with mild pepper note; simple round vigorous jammy fruit with ok acid, medium length, round and mouthcoating. **(*)
Petite Sirah Napa Valley Dynamite Hill 1997, Ridge - slightly musty with a pleasant mushroom tone, sweet old oak, earthy maturing fruit; round full and soft on the palate, lowish acid, mellowing tannins, medium-long finish. Strangely mature - normally this wine evolves at a glacial pace. ***/****
Petite Sirah Napa Valley York Creek 1990, Ridge - medium dark garnet; smoky, stately mature fruit with plummy-spice tones, a touch of cedar; lively on the palate with substantial fruit, medium-full body, not that long. ***(*?)
Petite Sirah Napa Valley 1984, Stags Leap Vineyard - dark garnet with brick tinge; smoky oak over cracked pepper opens to nice mature dusty -berry fruit; medium acidity, brawny substantial fruit, fairly dry structured tannins, long woodsy-tannic-iron finish. ***(*)
Petite Sirah Napa Valley 1983, Rosenblum - bricky red, thinning at edge; baked dusty fruit with an attactive pate de fruit character; maturing but still significant tannins; quite long but simple. ***
Petite Sirah Napa Valley York Creek 1978, Freemark Abbey - medium dark garnet; sweet oak vanilla with a marzipan touch over berry jam; big ripe fruit galumphing along in massive tannic galoshes, like Napa cult wine framed in Madiran tannins. Pretty intense stuff - "epic" PS? **(**?)
Petite Sirah Napa Valley 1976, Robert Mondavi - dark bricky garnet; mature smoky-dusty earthy baked fruit with a "volcanic" tone; complex on the palate with mature sweet berry fruit, Rutherfordish dust, clay and sage notes; dry dusty long finish; decayed with air but terrific while it lasts. ****
A few days later, another old vine throwback, this time white...
Chenin Blanc Napa Valley Pocai Old Vines 2008, Ballentine - pale; bright aroma featuring quince-pear-apple fruit with a touch of hay; light and zesty fruit jumps onto the palate but then it deepens with some grip and length on the palate, good acidity, terrific balance. This must be one of the jolliest wines in Napa. I suspect it would age well, but I can never stop myself from drinking it young. Bravo to Ballentine for keeping these old Chenin vines in the heart of Cab country. ****