Normally a big, burly beast, Petite Sirah can bring elegance to your table when harvested at a lower ripeness level. Coming in at 13.9% alcohol, a number rarely seen on this variety, winemaker Blake Kuhn shows some savvy technique, picking 24% sugar, and allowing a different side of varietal character to speak. What you expect from Petite is here, with brambly black fruit and black pepper, but you also get a lot of nuance and red fruit elegance in addition. Vanilla, coffee, chocolate, blueberry, cherry, dill, chili — the layers keep on coming. Ten years from now this will be just beginning to show its full charms.
Clayhouse Estate, Paso Robles (California) Petite Sirah 2012
By Rich Cook