Here’s a varietal name you probably won’t see on a French bottle. As a matter of fact, we’re only now beginning to understand what Petite Sirah is, thanks to DNA fingerprinting. The latest wisdom suggests that what we have been calling Petite Sirah may actually be one of several closely linked candidates. One thing that seems certain, though: Petite Sirah appears to be either a grape called Durif or a cross between Durif and Peloursin, a grape no longer in commerce. Some say that there may even be some true Syrah in its genetic profile.
Is Petite Sirah Always Mono-Dimensional?
Once considered a blending varietal, adding color and structure to flabby Zinfandels and other red varietals, there have always been a few offerings of stand-alone Petite Sirahs. The reason why there weren’t more is that the variety is known for its dark, almost opaque color, strong tannins, and monodimensional flavors.
To say that a wine is monodimensional doesn’t mean it’s not tasty. Many fruits and vegetables are also monodimensional, but tasty nevertheless. Broccoli, anyone?
We tasted an array of six Petite Sirahs, five from California. All were delicious, well made wines. All were deeply colored and possessed noticeable tannins, but not the hard tannins we had expected.
Three Food-friendly Petite Sirahs
At $20, the 2004 Lava Cap Petite Sirah Reserve Eldorado County was a good example of food-friendly wine that has excellent varietal flavor and doesn’t knock you out of your chair in spite of it’s15.8% alcohol. Climbing up the scale a little, we encountered the 2004 Ehrhardt Estates Petite Sirah (13.8% alc., $26) from Clarksburg in California’s Sacramento Valley. Once regarded as a source of inexpensive jug wine, the Lodi and Clarksburg regions are producing stellar Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. The Ehrhardt Estates Petite Sirah is a good example. Clean drinking and a little brighter than many others, Rich dark berry flavors make the Ehrhardt Petite Sirah a great partner for smoky grilled meats. Recommended.
The wines of Bob Marr never fail to impress and they are always attractively priced. The Marr Petite Sirah Lake County Shannon Ranch comes in at 16% alcohol and is priced at $25. It raised eyebrows immediately because of its clean, voluptouos flavors and very good aromatics. Mouth-filling, but not heavy in aspect as many 16% wines are, the Marr Petite Sirah displays perfect balance between the flavor components, acids, and velvet tannins. Recommended.
Sean Thackrey's 2004 Sirius A League Apart
At the other end of the spectrum were the pricier examples. The 2004 Massena Durif The Howling Dog was a miracle of depth, creamy fruit and fleshy seduction. At $45 we considered it appropriately priced. We would recommend this one with chocolate. It’s so big, not many food dishes could stand up to it. The final Petite Sirahs of the tasting were Sean Thackrey’s 2004 Sirius (15.3% alc., $60) and Turley 1995 Petite Sirah Napa Valley Aïda Vineyard. Both of these wines are in a class apart. They represent the very best examples of Petite Sirah anywhere in the world and our panel was divided in its evaluation. The Thackrey is simply splendid in every way; rich layered flavors, perfect acidity, fine aromatics. In contrast, the Turley was beginning to soften with 12 years of age and suggested a mature matron to Thackrey’s cover girl. In the end, when all factors were considered, we gave the nod to Marr as providing the best Petite Sirah at an affordable price and second only to the extravagant, more costly examples of Massena, Thackrey, and Turley.
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