Brady Vineyard, Paso Robles (California) Petite Sirah 2021 ($20)

After honing his winemaking skills in Texas, Don Brady went West to work for Robert Hall in Paso Robles. In 2006 he acquired a 24-acre vineyard and began focusing on Paso red wines. If you like Paso Petite, Brady checks most of the boxes. His 2021 was aged in French oak for 18 months. Dark in color, it has that intense, ripe blackberry aroma with some black pepper that sets the variety apart. Full-bodied with concentrated flavors of blackberries, boysenberries and some vanilla bean, it is tight and concentrated on the palate with light tannin and oak. More powerful than nuanced, but fairly well-mannered, it could benefit from a little cellaring to soften. But with decanting, it would serve you well as a complement to most smoked meats and, to me, especially with osso buco. Also, a good value.
91 Norm Roby