Petite Sirah 2002 Mags
We opened one of these for Christmas ’07. It was decanted and allowed to rest for several hours before consumption. It was really marvelous, and it’s hoped you have a few of these left! Rich cherry-raisin and blackberry fruit, still young and vibrant; lots of sharp black pepper in the nose, the sweetness of the pepper hasn’t developed yet, still piquant; the tannins of this wine had a pretty hard veil when bottled, that held back flavor rather than just being strong and astringent, but now these tannins are softening well, at least as handled here with breathing, and allowing the more subtle flavors of black olive, cinnamon-chocolate oak and smoke to develop. This wine was heartily enjoyed with Veal Parmigiana having a hefty layer of basil pesto under the cheese. The richness of the Petite Sirah fruit perfectly matched the well-cooked tomatoes and then the spices took over the show! You could easily hang onto this wine for a generation or so, but it just might start showing a substantial amount of it’s flavor in the next 5 – 6 years.
Rio Red 2003 Redux
After we found the 2003 Rio Red in Jerry’s 7 vintage tasting to have TCA (corked) taint, I opened another one from our cellar. It was such a relief to see this wine as it should have been- Rich, ripe strawberry and black raspberry fruit, with minty rose and tobacco. The palate was young and bright, still fruit dominant in front, and a nice acid/tannin balance that begged for homemade pizza.
Rio Red: a 7 vintage sampling
Jerry Adkins brought a 7 vintage vertical sampling of Rio Red to the Winery. Plenty of revelations here. Our intention is to make the Rio Red so that it’s fruit is pretty vibrant for about 4 years, structure hangs in nicely, and some bottle bouquet develops, and MIGHT last longer. But basically we want the wine to have it’s most useful life within 4 years of the harvest date. But this sampling showed they can go much longer in a good cellar, well-cared for.
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