2007 Lange Twins Generations Petite Verdot/Petite Sirah

I had been sitting on this bottle of wine for a few months after seeing a review or two online that it was still a bit young. Filled with two grapes that are always a guarantee for a power packed, intense and fruit filled wine – I was excited to give this a try. I am a big fan of these two grapes on their own and think they add a lot to the blends they grace, but I think this is the first wine I have had that PV and PS were the only two in the blend.

Lange Twins Generations series of wines are small lot productions that reference the generations of family members that work and have worked to craft their wines and tend their farms. I like their value statements so much I feel impelled to list them here:

• Always strive to do one’s best, regardless of the project

• Respect all individuals and foster teamwork

• Take full responsibility and commit to hard work

• Promote stewardship

• Live each day by honesty and integrity

• The best method to be understood is to start by understanding the opinions of others

In their commitment to stewardship, they are stewards of the land they farm and start with the simplest of steps by sending out USB drives vs paper info sheets. Their commitment to sustainability encompasses everything from renewable energy to water management.

On to the wine….

The 2007 Lange Twins Generations Petite Verdot/Petite Sirah is a 66% and 34% blend respectively. Only about 200 cases of this wine are produced so I feel lucky to be one of the people getting to try it.

My Tasting Notes –

Nose: dark cherry, black currant, campfire, brownie batter

Taste: raspberry jam, dried herbs, fig, cocoa, boysenberry

Mouthfeel: full lush body, leathery but manageable tannins

Finish: long and fruity

This was definitely a big wine but also definitely ready to drink now. The tannins were big and ripe but not too over the top “velcro” tannins as I like to say. Tons of rich, dark fruit with nice smokey and dried herb notes that round out the flavor/aroma profile nicely. At $20 it is a good value for a big fleshy, fruit filled wine when you are in that “New World” mood. I look forward to trying more of the Lange Twin offerings.

Cheers!

Tuesday Quick Sip – with Robert Foley

Working in a wine shop has its perks! One of them being I get to meet wine makers on a more regular basis than I normally would, for instance next Tuesday I get to have lunch with Ian Hongell, wine maker for Peter Lehman. A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to taste with Bob Foley and taste the wines from his “Robert Foley Vineyards” brand.

We tasted five of his wines but for the quick sip today I chose to write about the 2006 Muscle Man Petite Sirah

Wine Information –

Appellation: Napa, Calistoga

Grape: 100% Petite Sirah

Price: $60 – $70

(sorry I don’t have more facts on the wine, cooperage, vineyard site, etc.. I have sent out a couple of emails to gather some more facts and will update the post if I get some)

My Tasting Notes –

Nose: bacon fat, blackberry, cassis

Taste: boysenberry, blackberry, fig

Mouthfeel: spicy, bit hot, FULL bodied with lip lockin’ Velcro tannins

Finish: long and strong as the name “Muscle Man” would imply

This is a big boy of a wine that is young and in for the long haul. Tons of palate rockin’ structure is complimented by the abundance of deep rich dark fruit flavors and the nice bacon fat component I often find in a lot of California Petite Sirahs as well as Sryah. Not inexpensive to say the least, but if you want a good age worthy Petite Sirah, give this one a go.

Cheers!

Tomorow I continue with a review of our 3rd and final day in Virginia Wine Country last weekend

PS You’re So Seductive…with your dark fruit flavors

My internet search to get some background on this North Coast Petite Sirah was quite unsuccessful, to the point I couldn’t find one drip of information. The only tidbit I did learn was that “armen” is the Swedish word for arm. So I’ll jump right into my tasting notes for the 2005 Armen Petite Sirah that we picked up from a wine tasting at The Wine Cellar here in Midlothian. A note on the 2005 North Coast vintage – it was preceded by a late warm winter, a cool wet spring and a generally even mild summer.

Nose – Raisin, fig, blackberry jam, campfire

Taste – Blueberry jam, black cherry

Mouthfeel – Medium to full body, a bit of heat at first but that calmed down after being open for a bit, firm dusty tannins

Finish – Long and fruity

All in all a typical fruit forward Petite Sirah and for $16 – $18 not a bad deal. New world all the way, the jammy fruit forward style that was Zinfandel in nature was a pleasurable drink but fairly one (1 ½) dimensional, although the length of the finish was quite surprising.  I will say the one to one and a half dimensions of fruit were all very real, nothing fake tasting or over extracted, very well done for this style of wine.

Not sure, but I think Roanoke Valley is the only distributor bringing this in, at least to Virginia, so I am not sure of the distribution.

If you want a good dark fruit, jammy wine, that isn’t too over the top, give this one a whirl. Not sure if I can use “whirl”, has Gary Vee trademarked that yet!!

Cheers!

Wine Blogging Wednesday #40 – Petite Sirah

This installment of Wine Blogging Wednesday is sponsored by Sonadora at Wannabe Wino, and she has picked the topic of Petite Sirah.

It just so happened that a few days after the Petite Sirah WBW #40 was announced, there was one on the tasting sheet at the Wine Cellar. After enjoying it quite a bit that night, we brought a home a bottle of the 2005 Peltier Station Petite Sirah ($16.95) to drink and write about for WBW.

A bit of Background on the wine –

The wine is from a single vineyard grown in Elk Grove which is at the Northern tip of the Lodi AVA. The vineyard is comprised of clay soil and receives a consistent breeze from the Sacramento River Delta that allows the grapes to achieve longer than normal hang times. After reaching a brix of 25.8 the grapes were whole cluster fermented for 2 weeks before heading into French oak barrels for aging.

Interestingly the name of the winery comes from its location on a 1900’s railroad spur that was used to carry fruit from packing sheds along or near Peltier Road.

My Tasting Notes –

Nose – Molasses, prune, suede, black currant, bacon

Taste – Blackberry, blueberry, little hint of cranberry

Mouthfeel – Extremely smooth, heavy rich texture in the mouth

Finish – Long, nice leathery feel on the tongue for quite a while after I swallowed

With its rich dark color the Peltier Station Petite Sirah lets you know it means business right off the bat. Even though it was a fairly fruit forward wine, the aromas and flavors continuted to develop over the hour that we drank it showing its complex nature. This is only the 3rd Petite Sirah I have had, other than ones I have tasted at wineries and wine shops and I have to say I am really enjoying the varietal.

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