by Ethan Johnson
November 20, 2008
My red wine varietal of choice is Petite Sirah. I like other reds, but when push comes to shove, if I see an unfamiliar PS at the store, I'll find a way to scrape together the money to try it. Sadly, our local beer/wine chain carries a paltry number of Petite Sirah offerings, and I have tried over half of them already. Which means I had to go deep behind enemy lines and buy some:
Producer (Vineyard): Huntington Cellars
Varietal (Grape type): Petite Sirah
Vintage (Year): 2005
Country: USA (California)
Color: Red
Cost: Moderate ($15 USD)
Swirl and Sniff: The color is inky black, like any self-respecting PS should be. Sniff-wise, I picked up alcohol vapors, tar, cigar box, plums, cherries, and - whoa! - oak. I normally never detect oak, even at the hardware store. Ooh, and I smelled dates!
Taste: WOW, oak. Oak for miles. I thought I was licking a fence post. There is the usual plum/blueberry thing going on too, plus a fleeting blast of cherries. I mean, I felt like I bit into a maraschino cherry or something. Lots of tannins, but you have to slosh the wine around in your mouth a bit to get the full effect. Satisfying finish that became more astringent and grimace-inspiring as the wine sat. I did try to decant this for anywhere from 45-75 minutes, but the tannins persisted. The oakiness did flatten out.
Pairing: I drank this because I could. I put a fire on (wow), flopped a blanket over me, swirled and sipped the wine, the works. I'd imagine this would pair with steaks or hearty stews.
Rating: When it comes to this wine, I would (and you may):
- Buy three or more bottles for regular enjoyment
- Buy a bottle or two for occasional enjoyment
- Ask for when dining out or at a party
- Settle for if your preferred wine is not available
- Politely decline and never drink again, ever
Despite my moaning and groaning up there, this is one of the better Petites Sirah (??) I have found lately. There seem to be two warring schools of thought: Big and boomy versus smooth and beige. Yeah, I want boomy. That's what turned me on to PS back when I was bravely trying to figure out if I liked Riesling or not. If I want beige and nondescript, I'll pop open a Merlot. Okay, a crappy Merlot. Anyway, the bottle art is an added bonus. It just screams "stodgy leather furniture in front of a fireplace", doesn't it? Well, we have the fireplace, anyway. I think I'll decant the next bottle up front for at least 30 minutes.
Oh: Forgot to mention that this is not a "date wine", despite the date scent mentioned earlier. My teeth, tongue and gums were so purple Marlena thought I had hypothermia or something. That's good wine, mister.
If you do give this a try, please let me know how your experience compared with mine. Thanks! <EM>
(The Totally Unpretentious Wine Reviews Index may be found here.)
