Name: Petite Petit Sirah
Type: Red
Grape: Petite Sirah
Origin: U.S. – California
Year: 2005
Producer: Michael & David Phillips
Price: $20.00

Very interesting bulbous shape and entertaining label on this bottle. The color is deep purple and it has a potent aroma; you can get a very good whiff of lush berries just from the purple-stained end of the cork. Barely fitting within my $20 limit after a discount, my expectations for this one were high. It’s a blend of 85% Petite Sirah and 15% Petite Verdot. The potency of the flavor equals the promise of the aroma. Big fruit, nice tannins and a tiny bit of heat from the relatively high alcohol content fuse into a very satisfying red wine. Highly recommended.

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Smells like dark berries and oak. It’s quite dry and acidic, with a few tannins and a longish finish. It’s quite different in character than a regular Syrah, in case you were wondering. It’s also well over-priced in my estimation.

Bogle 2004 Petite Sirah

Boy howdy, does this one have a nose like Pinocchio on it! A rich, jammy, sweet aroma hits you well before your lips ever touch Riedel. The flavor has some nice spice and soft tannins over the solid, dark fruit foundation. All this culminates in a long-ish finish. This is a whole lotta wine for $9.99.

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The bottle claims this was the first Petite Sirah made in the U.S. and the winery dates back to the 1880′s. The bottle is unusually hefty, very substantial with a thick covering on the top of the bottle and a nice, embossed label. The aroma has jammy fruits and a bit of oak. The flavor is rich and has a lot going on. Cherry is the dominant fruit flavor but far more dominant is the spice and tannins. Though I like it, it’s almost too much on the palate and I think it will be much smoother and more complex with some time to age. In a couple years it will be a gorgeous bottle to take to someone’s house for dinner.