Petite Sirah

This is obviously very young but surprisingly accessible.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has boysenberries, graphite, gravel, spice, and char.  Great, plush texture.  Good acidity.  Lots of vibrancy.  On the palate, firm tannins.  Loads of boysenberry fruit with underlying char.  Tighter on the palate, but opens nicely with a few hours of air.  This will improve with a few more years in the cellar.  Hold for another three to five and drink for ten to fifteen after that.  Nice on its own, this worked well with vegetarian Indian cuisine. 

Since the early 1990s, Paraduxx has created blended red wine to show off the Napa Valley. A bit larger and more macerated than previous vintages, it is still nonetheless an enjoyable, solid wine. The tannins are a little more aggressive here with the fruit being both expressive but still subdued. The more noticeable element is the oak; an 18-month program of both French and Hungarian, with 40% of the barrels being brand new. The composition is 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, then diminishing proportions of Zinfandel, Malbec, Merlot, Syrah and Petit Sirah, in that order.

I am told this is a blend of 63% Petite Sirah, 22% Grenache, and 15% Syrah which makes me wonder how they can call it a Petite Sirah?  In California a wine needs at least 75% of the varietal if it is listed on the label.  In any event, the wine is quite nice.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, gravel, and roasted herbs.  Full bodied.  Light to medium tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries with char and a bit of gravel.  Good finish.  This is drinking well now and should provide nice drinking for another five to eight years.  It would be a nice wine to

This is a blend of 78% Petite Sirah, 18% grenache, and the remainder Syrah and Roussanne.  It is a big, bold wine that is drinking well.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, gravel, black cherries, and spices.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, lots of black cherry fruit with some black raspberries and char.  Long finish.  This is nice on its own and would work well with meats or poultry off the grill.  Drink over the next six to ten years.  

What a great wine.  Now that this winery is no longer in business, I wonder who gets these grapes?  This was Halcon's last year I believe.  Inky purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose has boysenberries, gravel, and spice.

Obviously way too young, but, this was open and delicious.  For about an hour or so, and then shut down tight.  We recorked and sampled over the next couple nights.  Day 2.  Still shut down.  Day 3.  Drinking well and the bottle was drained.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has boysenberries, gravel, char and spice.  Thick tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, loads of boysenberry fruit with underlying char.  Deep but like looking into a bottomless hole.  Long finish.  Not sorry to have tried it, but the remaining bottles will need a rest.  Ideally, hold for ten years a

The Paraduxx portfolio has been solely focused on blended wines, something they do admirably. The 2019 is comprised mainly of Cabernet Sauvignon with lighter amounts of five other grape including Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. The medley offers dusty black, cherry, blueberry, blackberry, red raspberry light cedar, and sandalwood notes with a very light green tea element and vanilla. The tannins are fairly taught, even after four years, supporting the structure of the wine, and the acidity comes into play making this an ideal companion for food.

This is a blend of 93% Syrah and 7% other Rhone varietals.  It is in a great place right now and seems to be at peak.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The  nose has black raspberries, bramble, gravel and smoke.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, great texture.  Plenty of ripe black raspberry fruit with some underlying char.  Nice finish.  Nice on its own, this will work well with grilled or roasted foods.  Drink over the next five years.

Earthy tannins leads to blackberry, blueberry, plum, and violets. Made from mainly Carménère and Cabernet Sauvignon, there are small amounts of Syrah, Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc in the mix. This has always been a solid wine for a very reasonable price. It deviates from much oak treatment and instead promotes the raw, earthy flavors of its organic vineyards. The aging consisted of 66% of the wine placed in French oak for 18 months, therefore the oak is supporting and not dominate. Nicely balanced this is a great go-to everyday drinking wine. ORIGIN: Apalta, Chile. ALCOHOL: 13.5%

Though Zinfandel is California’s signature grape, much of what is made is simplistic, jammy and average. Good thing the folks at Quivera have always taken Zin seriously. Comprised of all Zin with 15% Petite Sirah, the Black Boar offers complex flavors of black cherry, blackberry, plum, bay leaf, current marmalade, with light green tea notes, rhubarb, smoked vanilla and subtle charred campfire. The overtness of the fruit is kept in check with moderate tannins and a smart oak program, which included French, American and Hungarian oak, for a total of just 18 months in barrel.