Wine Tasting: Petite Sirah

Even pizza deserves good wine. Perhaps *especially* pizza deserves good wine! And, for me, that perfect wine is Petite Sirah, the inky, tannic bottles that stain your tongue.

A Frenchman created Petite Sirah (aka Durif) by crossing Syrah and Peloursin in the 1880s. Imported into California shortly thereafter, the varietal has since largely been forgotten in Europe. The vast majority is now grown in California, where it's usually used as a blending grape in Zinfandels, lending grip and structure. (For more details on Petite Sirah, see here.)

You don't find much Petite Sirah bottled separately because of its very high tannin levels. And the wines we opened generally showed that (although the first two demonstrated that age and winemaking can ameliorate that). But I enjoyed them all, especially with pizza.

Here's what we had, my favorites in bold:

1. 2000 Teldeschi Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah ($30): a great demonstration of how 19 years in the bottle can tame the monster tannins that define this grape. The tannins were still there, but they were finer and better integrated (I think I finally understand what people mean by "sweet tannins"). Very little fruit here, but lots of other flavors showing. Really lovely. 
2. 2013 Toulouse Thompson Vineyard Redwood Valley Petite Sirah ($32): a great demonstration of how winemaking style can inform a varietal. Toulouse is primarily a maker of pinot noir, and it shows in their interpretation of petite sirah. Soft, sweet, and approachable, the petite sirah signature tannin appears only at the end. This would be a great wine to stump wine experts in a blind tasting. 
3. 2013 Ridge Lytton Estate Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah ($30): 3% Zinfandel in this one. The first in our line-up to be what I consider "typical petite sirah", showing lots of tannin and structure. Always reliable, I thought it was upstaged in this line-up by the Carlisle. 
4. 2015 Odonata Machado Creek Vineyard Santa Clara Valley Petite Sirah ($25): I got a clear eucalyptus/menthol profile from this one, which I liked quite a bit. Still drinking nicely the next day, this one probably will improve for several more years. Qualifies as the bargain of the night. 
5. 2016 Stag's Leap Napa Valley Petite Sirah ($35): 79% Petite Sirah, 8% mixed Rhône varieties, 7% Grenache and 6% Syrah, aged for 12 months in 25% new American oak. A long-time champion of petite sirah, Stag's Leap makes a reliable bottle (they make 20,000 cases each year!). As the current release, I thought this was still too young, with a lot of unintegrated oak and tannins. But with 10 years on it, it might be a winner. Available at Costco! 
6. 2009 Carlisle Sonoma Valley Petite Sirah ($33): Carlisle is famous for Zinfandel, but I thought this bottle made a great case for their petite sirah expertise. A blend from Bedrock Vineyard and Rossi Ranch, this one was showing beautifully after 10 years in the bottle. I guess you have to be patient (some of Carlisle's other petite sirahs are referred to by wine critics as "30-40 year wines"). 
7. 2016 Preston Dry Creek Valley Sonoma County Petite Sirah ($38): the real monster of the evening, I thought pizza was a requirement for this one. In that context, however, I thought it was pretty great. Showing some fruit behind the huge tannins, this one drank even better the next day.