2008 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard
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Tasting notes
(16.5% alcohol; just 10% new oak): Inky dark ruby to the rim. Superripe aromas of blackberry, bitter chocolate and licorice. Huge, sweet and utterly primary, with a port-like grapey quality to the crushed black cherry flavor. The wine's thick, powerful fruit is supported by strong but surprisingly fine-grained tannins. Ultimately more harmonious and approachable than the chewier, more tannic 2007 but I'd still give this a decade in the cellar for the tannins to be absorbed. For all its thickness, this does not come across as overly sweet.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
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Readers looking for a massive, black, foreboding wine (which you might consider scary if you are against highly extracted, super-rich wines) should check out the 2008 Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard. It exhibits a black/purple color and smells like blood from a vine with notes of graphite, camphor, blackberry and blueberry liqueur. Viscous and thick with over the top richness and wonderfully sweet tannins, this is an extraordinary, profound Petite Sirah to drink over the next 25 years. This tiny producer consistently fashions excellent wines (Bob Foley is the winemaking force behind these efforts). Tel. (707) 967-8987