2012 Napa Valley "Palisades Vineyard" Petite Sirah
100% Petite Sirah
As proud as I am of what we accomplished in 2011, one of the few disappointments that year was not being able to produce a Petite Sirah. Between the cool nature of the growing season (Pet likes heat) and the ill-timed rain (Pet seems to rot even at the mere mention of a cloud!), our Palisades Petite Sirah went unpicked. Fortunately, there were no such issues in 2012. Picked September 29th at 26.0 Brix, the wine spent nearly 30 days on the skins to help soften the tannins. (Like Nebbiolo, Petite Sirah is actually low in tannin but the tannins present are highly extractable.) Pressed to all French oak, only 18% new. Bottled unfined and unfiltered
Tasting Note:
Totally black. Opaque. Any blacker and you’d have to worry about nearby objects being sucked in and lost forever. A powerful, concentrated nose of delicious blueberry and blackberry goodness. On the palate, full-bodied with the typical Pet tannins nearly overwhelmed by the abundant fruit. Very consistent with previous releases. When to drink? We prefer our Pets on the young side but there’s no doubt this wine can go 20 years or more. Just depends on whether you like your Pets very primary and fruit forward or more mellow with secondary characteristics. (MRO – 01/18/14)