The 12 Days of Petite Sirah continues. Another selection made from Lodi fruit is up to bat. This one is from the Jewel Collection. The only previous wine of theirs I'd had was Viognier. I'd enjoyed 
that on several occasions and was thus looking forward to seeing what they could do with Petite Sirah.
The Jewel Collection 2005 Petite Sirah is 100% varietal and all Lodi Fruit. Alcohol is a moderate 13.5% and the suggested retail price on this wine is $10. This wine is finished with a synthetic cork closure.
Dried blueberry and light plum notes come out in the nose. The first sip also reveals blueberry characteristics along with some light spice notes. Those flavors are accompanied by quite a bit of tartness. This isn't unusual for a Petite Sirah right out of the bottle. Decanting often helps the tartness blow off. In this case it never really did. The initial nose and tastes stayed but the palate of this wine drops off very quickly. The finish is well below average.
Over an evening this wine was retasted quite a few times. Instead of it opening up and becoming more expressive any flavor profile it had dissipated. The only thing that really remained was that initial tartness. Wines can have a good soft lingering tartness that adds to it's appeal at times. That's not the case with the Jewel Collection 2005 Petite Sirah. The lingering tartness this wine displays is unfortunate and unappealing. It also does not offer much in the way of the characteristics normally associated with Petite Sirah.
Even for a suggested retail price of $10 I can not recommend this wine. There are other Petite Sirah's in this price range that surpass it by leaps and bounds. I'll post notes on a few of them as my Petite Sirah coverage continues
Check out PS I love You, the Advocacy Group dedicated to this great varietal.
Up Next: 12 Days of Petite Sirah Continues, Please Stay Tuned.
Please take a moment to vote for my blog.