Open Mike: Petite Sirah........PS I love you!

I went down to the cellar to see if I still had a bottle of Ridge Petite Sirah but, as expected, they were both gone. I remember them as my sort of wine, tarry and tannic. I don't think that I have ever seen a Petite Sirah on sale in Belgium.

I did find a bottle of Ridge Mataro 1995. How is that likely to be showing? Mataro= Mourvèdre, I think.

Yep, Mataro - Mourvedre. The Ridge should be really good.

Of course there's only one way to find out.
John

2001 Tobin James, Ranchita Canyon, Paso Robles, Petite Sirah ($20 from winery). Alcohol level: 13.9%. Alas, this was the last Ranchita Canyon bottling from TJ. Two years later they came out with their Black Magic bottling that came from several small vineyards.

Inky black color, it gave plenty of black fruit (cherries, berries, currents) on the nose and upfront along with a healthy dose of pepper. There was well aged black fruit and spicy complexity with very Rhone like nuances on the palate, with completely smooth tannin; and a finish that lingered and lingered.

We matched it with roast boneless leg of lamb with plenty of minced rosemary and garlic with the EVOO on the crisscrossed top; cannellini, well doctored with herbs, roasted red pepper, and sun dried tomatoes; and salad with a freshly made dressing. The wine matched perfectly. A wonderful Saturday night.

John posted on some Foppiano the other day including....>

2004 $25.00 7/07 1/08 The wine for lamb! Dark, moderately tannic, lots of deep blackberry fruit, considerable length. 14.5% alcohol

Well lucky me, came across 3 bottles in the westend ($26 Cdn). Looking at liquor board website, only stock in town.

Best one I've ever had was back in '02 - 1971 Ridge York Creek Petite Sirah. It was as fresh as if it had been made the day before, and yet fully mature and without the massive tannins. Sigh...

[David M. Bueker]

My last taste of the '71 Ridge was about 3 years ago, and it was a lovely wine indeed.

I just got my hands on some more recent bottlings of Ridge (Lytton Estate 2002 and Dynamite Hill 1999 & 2002), so I'll have something to contribute sooner or later. Maybe I'l open a 1995 Ridge York Creek (or the 1995 Stag's Leap).

I used to be a huge fan of PS, but our local outlets carry only Concannon, Bogle, De Bertoli, Parducci, and one I have never heard of (and may not want to) Redtree.

My cellar list shows lamentably few - only an 80s Hop Kiln, 3 Turleys and an Aussie (Oliverhill) kept for ringers and blind tastings.

I'd certainly buy PS more if we got anything interesting here. Same thing goes for Zinfandels, unfortunately.

My last taste of the '71 Ridge was about 3 years ago, and it was a lovely wine indeed.

I just got my hands on some more recent bottlings of Ridge (Lytton Estate 2002 and Dynamite Hill 1999 & 2002), so I'll have something to contribute sooner or later. Maybe I'l open a 1995 Ridge York Creek (or the 1995 Stag's Leap).

Had a couple of Ridge ATP Pettie Sarahs back in October, so these notes could be considered fairly current:

1997 Ridge Napa Petite Sirah York Creek Dynamite Hill Vines ATP, 13.5% alc.: Good dark color, with a big black fruit nose that shows some attractive aromatics, even in what I would have expected to be its relative youth. Not quite as generous on the palate, nor as deep and rich as I would have expected, and slightly green, though not in a bad way. Not bad with air now, but I’m not sure this will ever be a “great” Petite Sirah. Or, maybe it just needs more time, like the next wine had the advantage of receiving.

1986 Ridge Napa Petite Sirah York Creek Devil’s Hill ATP, 12.9% alc.: Slightly cloudy dark garnet color, and showing the dark side of all that Draper perfume, with smoky black plum and berry that follow through very nicely on the palate. Mark H. commented that there are “a lot of good things in this; back then, Ridge had a lot of funk in their wines.” He has a point, because it’s so good, it deserves a second pour, and best of all, it’s still not at its peak.

Best one I've ever had was back in '02 - 1971 Ridge York Creek Petite Sirah. It was as fresh as if it had been made the day before, and yet fully mature and without the massive tannins. Sigh...

George, I just looked and I guess I still have one lone bottle of the 1998 York Creek petit sirah left. I Suppose it will out live me, so I might ought to bring it to Ann Arbor sometime soon. I also have a lone bottle of the Ridge Bridgehead vyd mourvedre from 1996. The two might make for interesting tasting.

Best one I've ever had was back in '02 - 1971 Ridge York Creek Petite Sirah. It was as fresh as if it had been made the day before, and yet fully mature and without the massive tannins. Sigh...

George, I just looked and I guess I still have one lone bottle of the 1998 York Creek petit sirah left. I Suppose it will out live me, so I might ought to bring it to Ann Arbor sometime soon. I also have a lone bottle of the Ridge Bridgehead vyd mourvedre from 1996. The two might make for interesting tasting.

I'll bet they'd make for a most interesting tasting, Bob. I have a '99 Ridge York Creek down in the newly restored cellar that can no longer be referred to as from he11! I might sit on that one for a while. Feelin' pretty healthy these days! Could go for a second opinion on that 1997 Ridge Napa Petite Sirah York Creek Dynamite Hill Vines ATP tho...

The California Wine Show is in town Thursday. I will naturally be there, try some SB and hopefully find some PS on top or under the table!! That is where they keep the good stuff.

I used to be a huge fan of PS, but our local outlets carry only Concannon, Bogle, De Bertoli, Parducci, and one I have never heard of (and may not want to) Redtree.

My cellar list shows lamentably few - only an 80s Hop Kiln, 3 Turleys and an Aussie (Oliverhill) kept for ringers and blind tastings.

I'd certainly buy PS more if we got anything interesting here. Same thing goes for Zinfandels, unfortunately.

Bill, the Calif Wine Show was in town today, is it coming your way?

I did try some interesting PS and will post some thoughts asap. EOS was very nice!

(Thanks for the heads up on the Greco, will try).

Well, I love Petite Sirah/Durif for its dark fruit/inky flavours, big tannins and bright acidity.
Campbell's The Barkly Durif Rutherglen 2003
On first opening this showed aromas of tarnish spilt on a dusty shed floor and deep dark plummy inky fruit. Later, some prune and cream(!), and some gentle spice. Fresh inky fruit on the palate and quite a bit of oak-tannin in this one. This seems slightly muddied now, and could probably do with some more age.
The Barkly has a rep, but personally, I think Stanton & Killeen and Morris are better Rutherglen producers than Campbells, both for Durif and Muscat. This is good, but actually, I can’t help but feel that a Paso Robles (OK, or a S&K or Morris) would probably go down better!

Oh man, how did I miss this thread?!

I was passing by the PS bins in a local shop tonight and one bottle in particular caught my eye: Sean Thackrey Sirius Petite Syrah, for $90! Uh, has anyone tasted this? Is it remotely worth that sort of money? Grape source was Eaglepoint Ranch in Mendocino, which is funny because Eaglepoint's own bottling is in the $20 range....

It's FANTASTIC. It also needs either 5-6 years, or about that long in a decanter to BEGIN to open up.