Milbrandt Vineyards, Wahluke Slope (Washington) Petite Sirah 2009

 If your experience with Petite Sirah wine is limited to California wines, here’s a new frontier for you.  This wine is a smooth but gutsy red, full-bodied and dry.  Its aromas and flavors suggest spiciness, dark berry fruit, and chocolate, with some toasty oak.  The wine’s tannin is as firm and assertive as you would expect from a Petite Sirah, but the ripeness and fleshiness of the wine’s fruit — without any jammy taste — counterbalances the tannin, for a soft, pleasing effect.  This wine should drink well over the next five years or longer.