I've had a long-standing penchant for Petite Sirah. It’s a grape that fascinates me and I can’t recall every turning down an opportunity to taste one in any setting. Whether I’m in a tasting room, a wine event, or at someone’s home when I hear the words Petite Sirah, I say “yes.” So when the opportunity presented itself to sample a wine composed mostly of Petite Sirah named after a famous series of books, I had to say yes. Here’s what I thought of it.
Fifty Shades of Grey 2011 Red Satin – This wine blends together primarily Petite Sirah and Syrah. It was aged in a combination of new and previously used French oak barrels. The author of the Fifty Shades of Grey books had a hand in creating this wine as well as an accompanying white blend. Red Satin has a suggested retail price of $17.99. Violet, blueberry and white pepper aromas are all part of the dense and somewhat brooding nose of this wine. The palate is loaded with appealing, dark fruit flavors. Black plum, cherry and raspberry are joined by oodles of plum pudding spice characteristics. Hints of brown sugar, dusty baker’s chocolate and continued spices are all part of the above average finish. This is a softer, somewhat gentler Petite Sirah dominant wine. It shows off medium tannins, that yield easily with air, and firm acidity.
The Syrah in this wine helps soften things up. It also helps make this a wine that can be enjoyed on it’s own as well as paired with somewhat lighter foods than the average Petite Sirah dominant wine. In any case it’s a tasty offering, produced from an underappreciated grape. Considering the tie in with the popular books of the same name, it might be a great bottle to pop open for a date.