If you haven’t had any wines from Michael David Winery before there’s still a good chance you’ve seen one on a shelf somewhere in your neighborhood. Their wines are widely available offerings that appeal to a lot of folks. Today I’ll look at the current release of Petite Sirah which is labeled under their Earthquake tier of wines.

The Michael David Winery 2009 Earthquake Petite Sirah was produced using fruit from the Lodi region. In addition to Petite Sirah this wine contains a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon. After fermentation this wine spent 19 months in French oak. This wine, which is available nationally, has a suggested retail price of $26.

The moment you pour this wine the beautiful deep purple hue is immediately apparent. More than other wines, Petite Sirah can have the color of Welch’s grape juice, as this one does. Plum violet and leather aromas fill the nose of this Petite Sirah. Deep dark plum, blackberry, and black raspberry fruit characteristics are prominent throughout the deeply layered palate of this wine along with plum pudding spices. All of those fruit flavors and spices carry through the finish along with bits of chocolate and earth. This is a structured Petite that features tightly wound, firm tannins. If you’re going to drink this wine now I recommend decanting it for about 90 minutes and pairing it with bold, full flavored foods. If you’re patient you could also lay this wine down for 3-5 years to soften it up a bit.

The Michael David Wines are unabashedly big, bold efforts aimed at folks who want lots of up front fruit. However their wines also consistently feature depth of palate and an above average finish in their respective categories. These are qualities not often found in the wines they’re competing with shelf space for. For that reason if you like bold, brash wines the Michael David offerings should be on your shopping list.

The 2008 V. Sattui North Coast Petite Sirah was produced using fruit sourced in Lake County (65%), Napa Valley (30%) and Dry Creek Valley (5%). In addition to Petite Sirah (95%), this wine has some Zinfandel (5%) blended in. This wine is available directly from the winery for $30.

The first noteworthy thing about this wine is its color. Like most great Petite Sirah it leads with a deep, dark, purple hue. It’s fair to say it’s as dark as night. From there comes the nose which is deep and brooding, loaded with aromas of plum and blueberry. This Wine has a big, burly palate which features intensely layered black fruit flavors which intermingle with copious spice characteristics. Blackberry, plum, and blueberry are the dominant fruits; plum pudding spices are prominent as well. Earth and dark chocolate notes are present on the finish which has good length and oodles of complexity. This wine features solid acidity and firm, gripping tannins.

Petite Sirah is a grape whose offerings I look to taste as often as possible. Sometimes I run across a surprising example of the varietal that exceeds expectations. This 2008 release from V. Sattui is such a release. The intense layers of complexity and good length along with its overall balance make this a wine that provides more quality than its price point suggests. If you like classically styled Petite Sirah, this is an offering you’ll want to sample. This wine is delicious now, but some additional bottle age will help it round out a bit. If you have patience lay this down for about 5 years and you’ll be dutifully rewarded with an even more resolved wine. If you’re drinking it now I recommend decanting it for about 2 hours.

Mendocino’s Parducci Wine Cellars has a long and storied history with Petite Sirah, dating back to the 1940’s. In addition to a couple of separate bottlings of Petite Sirah, they use this great varietal in blends. Today I’ll look at the current release of their True Grit Petite Sirah.

The Parducci 2007 True Grit Petite Sirah was produced using fruit sourced exclusively in Mendocino. In addition to Petite Sirah (88%), this wine has Syrah (12%) blended in as well. Barrel aging was accomplished over 24 months. 4,800 cases of this vintage were produced and it has a suggested retail price of $29.99.

This 2007 Petite Sirah is gorgeous from the moment you pour it. A deep, dark purple hue fills the glass with brilliant color. Plums, violets and blackberry aromas leap from the glass and provide a heady nose. Baked blueberry cobbler characteristics lead the palate which is full-bodied, deeply flavored and simply loaded with dark, brooding and intense flavors. These bruising purple fruits lead to pencil lead, espresso, sour black fruits, earth and black pepper on the lengthy and lusty finish. This wine is big and beefy with firm tannins and excellent acidity.

I have tasted this wine over numerous vintages and find the Parducci True Grit to be one of the best and most consistent Petite Sirahs in its price range. This wine is delicious now, particularly if you enjoy the vigorous enthusiasm of young Petite Sirah. However, if you have the patience to lay this wine down for a decade you’ll be rewarded with a subtler, earthier bottle. Whenever you decide to drink this wine, if you like Petite Sirah, you’re in for a real treat.

Dear Petite Sirah, Have I told you lately that I love you? Well if I haven’t I apologize. All kidding aside I realize how much I love this varietal every time I open a fine example of it. The reason being that each and every time that happens I think to myself that I don’t drink Petite Sirah nearly as often as I should. If you take into account the fact that Petite Sirah already accounts for more than 10% of the reviews I’ve posted here, you get the idea. Last year I looked at a few releases from Locatelli Vineyards & Winery in Paso Robles. Their current release of Petite wasn’t ready for release at that time and therefore I didn’t review it then.

The Locatelli 2006 Petite Sirah was made from Estate Fruit. Production was limited. The suggested retail price for this wine is $35.

When you pour this wine, the dark, inky hue often associated with Petite Sirah is quite evident. This wine, like the band, is Deep Purple. This Petite is a bit tight out of the bottle and decanting is definitely recommended. Once it opens up, this offering is shot out of a cannon and full of big, bold, juicy flavors. The nose features apricot notes, which quite honestly threw me for a bit of a loop at first. Strangely when you take the first sip, plum and dark berry characteristics take over, the apricot makes sense. This wine is big and rich, full of boisterous dark fruit notes. The finish, especially once this wine has had a chance to breathe, shows explosive earth characteristics that linger in your mouth along with spice notes for a nice long while. As big and bold as this Petite Sirah is, it is has good acidity that keeps it balanced. A wine this big and extroverted wants to be paired with an equally full flavored meal. Braised short ribs or barbecue are two things that come to mind.

What I like best about the Locatelli Petite Sirah is that it reminds me of all the things I love about both Petite Sirah and Paso Robles wines. This is a great example of both and well worth the $35 price tag. Some time in the bottle will likely allow the earthiness to become more prominent. However, this wine is irresitable now .

Look out for another wine from Locatelli next week when I reccoemend Dessert wines for Valentines Day!

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The last wine from Barra of Mendocino I’m looking at this week is their Petite Sirah. This is a varietal that absolutely fascinates me. What seems to really get me excited about Petite is how much it can change over time. When they’re young they can be dense and monolithic and at the same time exuberant and bold. With age, well made Petite Sirah gains a lot of secondary characteristics and complexities. There are a number of well made, reasonably priced Petite Sirah that will age nicely for a long while. One of the questions I set out to answer when tasting this wine is, would it be one of them?

The 2004 Petite Sirah from Barra of Mendocino is 86% varietal and the balance Zinfandel. 507 cases of this offering were produced and the suggested retail price is $23.

If you’re going to drink this wine over the next couple of years, I recommend decanting it for a couple of hours. That time allows it to really come into its own and express its charms. Once it does, plum fills the nose with a touch of cinnamon underpinning it. The palate offers blackberry and cherry notes interspersed with dark, dusty baker’s chocolate characteristics. The finish has a bit of earth and some prominent chicory and spice notes that linger. Much like the other wines from Barra, this Petite Sirah is nicely balanced and built for food. Strong cheeses, roasted meats or a nice Italian Sunday dinner would be my recommendations.

I went back to this wine twice, once after it had been open for 24 hours and a second time after 48 hours.  In both cases, this Petite Sirah had simply continued to evolve and was even more exciting to drink. This wine will likely improve in the bottle for at least four or five years. I’d expect it to drink well for a decade or more. When you choose to drink it is going to come down to personal taste. It’s deep, dark, bold and brash right now. A decade from now it should have more subtle fruit and more prominent earth characteristics. Either way this is an excellent example of Petite Sirah. Barra of Mendocino is making some really nice, reasonably priced wines, I recommend checking them out.

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