If there is a single wine that I could name that pointed me onto the path of becoming a wine lover, it’s the Zinfandel made from the Lytton Springs vineyard. I’m not exactly sure why this wine made me sit up and take notice, but it did, and remains today one of my sentimental favorites. So when Joel from Wine Life Today announced the theme of Comfort Wines for this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday, I knew there was only one wine to fill the bill: Ridge Lytton Springs.

It must have been late 1981 or early 1982 when I stumbled across a small winery named Lytton Springs in my search for the best Zinfandel. This variety had already become my favorite most likely due to the forward fruit in most bottlings that was noticeably different from the Bordeaux and Napa Cabs I was mostly drinking at the time. Since I didn’t yet read any wine publications, I must have chosen Lytton Springs Zinfandel from the recommendation of a wine merchant or, more likely, just at random. From my first experience with the aromas of dark fruit offset by spices and cedar, I was hooked. The layers of flavor and impeccable balance also didn’t hurt either and this became my “benchmark” Zinfandel that all others were judged against.

The Lytton Springs Winery was founded in 1970 after Richard Sherwin purchased the old vine vineyard near downtown Healdsburg, California. The vineyard had been planted around the turn of the 20th Century on lands owned by a Captain Litton who many years before built a hotel catering to Bay Area visitors to the local hot springs. By the time of the vineyard planting, the spelling of his family name had evolved to Lytton.

The vineyard is a classic “field blend” of inter-planted varieties with about 70% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah and the remainder split between Grenache and Carignane. As early as 1972, Ridge Vineyards winemaker Paul Draper made wines from this vineyard but it wasn’t until Ridge purchased Lytton Springs Winery in 1991 that the entire 35-acre property was devoted to Ridge wines. There is a great interview with Richard Sherwin over at Gang of Pour if you are interested in more background on Lytton Springs Winery.

I can’t recall when I made the switch to Ridge Lytton Springs but it was most likely in the early 1990’s. The grace and even elegance of this wine made it stand out to me over another favorite Sonoma vineyard, the famous Ridge Geyserville most recently tasted on my birthday last year. So I was looking forward to getting back to Lytton Springs 2004, a wine I last tasted about 14 months ago but failed to blog here for some unknown reason.

Ridge Vineyards, Zinfandel, Lytton Springs, Dry Creek Valley 2004 ($34) - This wine still displays a youthful purple-ruby color. The aroma profile is classic Lytton Springs: black raspberries & blackberry with fennel and cedar. The flavors are also a mixture of dark fruits with the addition of some blueberry, black pepper and minerality that finishes long with great balance and moderate tannins. Although this wine weighs in at 14.5% ABV, there is no hint of heat on the palate or in the aromas. This is clearly still one of the best Zinfandel’s produced today and is in wide distribution due to production of over 10,000 cases each vintage.

14.5% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 92
Rating:

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When I taste this wine today, it takes me back to my earliest memories of noteable wines. In fact, Lytton Springs Winery Zinfandel was the best wine I had ever tasted until it was upstaged by a glass of 1974 Heitz Cellars “Martha’s Vineyard” Cab that I had in 1986. But I still have a warm place in my heart for Lytton Springs Zin that will never be changed.

Kudos go to Joel from Wine Life Today for a great theme and congratulations on the birth of his second child just a few days ago. I’m hoping he can find some time to recount all the stories this month in between his fatherly duties.

Next month some guy from New Jersey named Gary is hosting. Should be fun to see what he’s got in mind.

This month’s host, Sonadora from Wannabe Wino, picked one of my favorite varietals for this month’s virtual tasting: Petite Sirah. This grape is originally from France where it’s known as Durif, a name also commonly used in Australia for the variety today. According to Jancis Robinson’s “Oxford Companion to Wine” now resting in my lap, DNA research in California linked the name Petite Sirah with four varieties: Durif, Syrah, Peloursin and a Peloursin + Durif crossing. But today I think all that is sorted out and Petite Sirah in California is actually all Durif.

I think I’ve always loved Petite Sirah because of it’s connection with Zinfandel. In the century old vines of Sonoma, Petite Sirah is often found inter-planted with Zin to make the field blends I love, such as Ridge Lytton Springs. It’s tannins backbone and soft fruit help to bolster Zinfandel and transform the result into something more complex. Another reason I like this variety so much is the best examples are pure fruit bombs.

So I was really looking forward to tasting a few examples of this variety this month. As luck would have it, I received some samples from Foppiano Vineyards, a name like Concannon closely linked with Petite Sirah. My other selection was from a producer I’ve never heard of before but will seek out from my tasting this evening.

Tasting Notes:

Foppiano Vineyards, Petite Sirah, Russian River Valley 2004 ($23/sample) - Dark black-purple in color with aromas of blueberry, plum and licorice. Soft black currant and blackberry flavors with pepper and spices finishing with firm tannins. Textbook Petite Sirah but could use some time in the bottle to soften those tannins.

14.6% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 88
Rating:

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Peltier Station Winery, Petite Sirah, Lodi 2005 ($18) - Dark purple-black in color with aromas of boysenberry, black raspberry, bacon and fennel. Rich and massive blackberry and blueberry fruit with cracked black pepper, medium tannins and a bit of minerality & sweet caramel on the finish. A blockbuster Pet that I’ll be cellaring to see what happens.

14.8% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 90
Rating:

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Thanks again to Sonadora for an excellent theme this month. Join us next time when we’ll be exploring an underrated region of Italy.

When the wine bug first bit me back in the early 1980’s, Zinfandel became my favorite varietal in large part due to the wines of Ridge Vineyards. Their field blend from the Geyserville vineyard in the Alexander Valley AVA of Sonoma County soon became the benchmark that other Zinfandels were judged.

Although I also greatly admire the Ridge Lytton Springs bottling, I always come back to Geyserville for the power and elegance that could only come from old vine Zinfandel, Carignan and Petite Sirah grown in this vineyard. Over the years the wines have been distinct and very malleable to the vintage but the layers of dark fruit flavor is always represented. So this wine was the natural choice for me to pickup to celebrate my birthday this past weekend.

Ridge Vineyards, Zinfandel, Geyserville 2005 ($34) - A field blend of 77% Zinfandel, 17% Carignane and 6% Petite Sirah. Very deep black-purple color with aromas of blackberry, kirsch, sage, fennel and cedar. The palate is classic Geyserville, with layers of dark fruit — blackberry, black cherry, black raspberry — supported by black pepper and spices. The tannins are firm but nicely integrated making the wine well balanced and very enjoyable right now. I would also expect this to age well over the next 8 to 10 years.

14.6% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 94
Rating: 4/5 stars

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Name: Bogle Petite Sirah
Vintage: 2005
Varietal: Petite Sirah
Winery: Bogle Vineyards
Region: USA > California
Price: $10.79
SnoothRank: N/A
Winecast’s Rating: 4/5
Winecast’s Review: Deep black-purple in color with aromas of blueberry, boysenberry and fennel. Rich and soft in the mouth with blueberry and black pepper flavors finishing with soft, dusty tannins. A nice value for less than $10.

13.5% ABV
Score: 85

As posted on Snooth

Petite Sirah is one of my favorite wine varieties and Peterson Winery is one of my favorite producers. Combine the two and you are likely to be pleased. This wine is a blend of 75% Petite Sirah, 17% Mourvedre, 5% Syrah, 2% Zinfandel and 1% Carignane from Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley AVA. The fruit comes from several vineyards including the West Vineyard which contributes relatively newly planted Petite Sirah and 80 year old Zinfandel to this blend. The remainder is grown in Norton Ranch, Tollini Vineyard and Peterson’s own Bradford Mtn. Vineyard.

Peterson Winery, Petite Sirah , Dry Creek Valley, 2002 ($26) - Deepest purple-black in color with aromas of blackberry liqueur, blueberry, sage and vanilla. In the mouth there’s rich with boysenberry jam, black pepper and coffee flavors finishing with moderate and well integrated tannins. A well balanced example of this varietal that will continue to please for a few more years. Only 200 cases produced.

13.7% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 89

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One of my most popular posts/reviews here was for Jim Neal’s Chariot, “Diana” 2002, a blend of Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc (although I bet there’s a bit of Petit Verdot in the lastest release). In fact, Mr. Neal himself posted a comment to my last review. I’ve been looking forward to tasting the next release, but somehow missed the 2003 vintage; when I found the 2004 on the shelf the other day, I picked up a bottle to see if this blend was still bringing home the taste and value.

Jim Neal Wines, Chariot, “Diana” 2004 ($12) - Inky dark purple in color with aromas of cherry liqueur and black pepper. Soft and rich in the mouth with boysenberry jam, blueberry and spicy pepper finishing with moderate tannins. Not as complex as I remember the 2002, but still mighty tasty and an excellent value. I’m a sucker for these fruit bombs; YMMV.

14.2% ABV
Synthetic cork closure
Score: 89

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When the subject of wine values comes up in conversation, more often than not the name Charles Shaw, as in “2-buck Chuck”, is mentioned. I’ve had every flavor of Charles Shaw over the years, and outside of the Chardonnay and sometimes Shiraz, there is nothing to recommend, even at $2-3 a bottle. Sure, they are drinkable, but I’d rather have a bottle of cheap Spanish red any day over the well known Trader Joe’s phenomenon.

The Charles Shaw brand is made by the Bronco Wine Company who’s leader, Fred Franzia, is quite a character. In fact, he has been quoted as saying that no wine is worth, “more than $10 a bottle.” While I disagree with that assertion, Mr. Franzia has created somewhat of a “Walmart for wine” figuring out how to cut costs and make low cost wines that are generally decent and often times good values. Bronco makes many other brands including ForestVille Vineyard, Montpellier Vineyard, Hacienda Wine Cellars, Napa Ridge, Forest Glen, Estrella, Napa Ridge, Sea Ridge, Coastal Ridge, Silver Ridge and Crane Lake. Since Trader Joe’s market has the exclusive for Charles Shaw, Bronco created the Crane Lake brand to market similar wines sold in independent wine stores. I’ve had several of these wines, and most are indistinguishable from Charles Shaw, except in the price department being somewhere between $3 to $5 a bottle. So it was interesting to see this Petite Sirah on the shelf; one that does not appear in the Shaw lineup. Given that this grape is somewhat under the radar to most consumers I reasoned that it might be a reasonable value. If not, I had some cooking wine.

Crane Lake, Petite Sirah, California 2003 ($5) - Inky, almost black, purple in color with aromas of blackberry jam. In the mouth, the wine is soft and very fruity with blueberry pie filling flavors a bit of white pepper and no tannins to speak of. Some might consider this to be too simple and slightly flabby, but I think it’s varietally correct and a stunning value. It also turns your tongue black

12.5% ABV
Composite cork
Score: 84

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Vina Robles, “Signature”, Paso Robles 2002 ($18) – A blend of 48% Petit Verdot, 33% Syrah, and 19% Petite Sirah. Dark purple in color with intense aromas of plum and spice. Silky plum, blackberry and black pepper flavors. Moderate tannins are still behind the thick mouthfeel, indicating that this wine has better days ahead. Plenty of fruit here for the long term. This is my kind of wine. Score: 9/10

Unlike almost every St. Patrick’s Day, I picked wine to match with my Irish stew. Instead of the normal pint or two of Guinness, I opened one the samples sent by Concannon, their Petite Sirah from 2004. While Guinness was still involved as an ingredient to the stew, it was great to match one of my favorite varietals with the meal. Here’s my tasting note:

Concannon Vineyard, Petite Sirah, Central Coast, “Limited Release�? 2004 ($15/sample) - Dark purple/black in color with aromas of blueberry and black cherry; Bright blueberry fruit flavors with some vanilla and silky tannins. A rich mouthfeel completes the package nicely. Drink now to fully enjoy the exuberant fruit. Score: 8.5/10

The wine matched well with the earthiness of the stew, bringing pure fruit as a counterpoint while not overpowering it. I think the Heritage Pet, while a better wine overall, would not have matched as well here.

Today’s show is a bit different from my normal format of talking about a wine varietal or region, into what I hope will be a monthly feature I’m calling vintner profile. The idea is to give you the back-story directly from the people in the business, both winery owners and winemakers. In this first outing, I talk with one of the great gentlemen of the California wine business, Jim Concannon from Concannon Vineyard in Livermore, CA. With St. Patrick’s Day later this week, I though Concannon, America’s first Irish winery, would be a great place to start this series.

Show Notes:
00:22 - Welcome and Show Theme
01:22 - Jim Concannon Interview
16:28 - Tasting Notes
16:53 - Concannon Vineyard, Chardonnay, Central Coast, “Selected Vineyards” 2004 ($10)
17:53 - Concannon Vineyard, “Stampmaker’s White”, Livermore Valley 2004 ($15)
17:56 - Concannon Vineyard, Heritage Petite Sirah 2001 ($50)
18:26 - Best of Tasting
18:47 - Best Value
19:11 - Second winner of QPR Wines drawing (congrats, Greg)
20:19 - Contact Details
20:47 - Next Show Theme

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