Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Wine Blogging Wednesday 40-- Petite Sirah, mais Grand Fruit

Pardon my French--I met with my local language group last night, Les Francophones. And speaking of language, I'd love to have the inconsistency in Sirah and Syrah explained. But onto the wine. I had tried Petite Syrah before and remembered that I was struck by its intense berry elements, and this bottle confirmed my impression of the varietal. I had a 2005 Petite Sirah Paso Robles from Courtney Benham (as the label says, "a member of the Martin Ray Family of Fine Wines.") This young, sassy pour was, in a word, BERRYLICIOUS. A smidgeon of tannin helped balance out the huge blackberry fruit. This bottle came in well south of $20 and was quite enjoyable. I had a pork casserole (much better than it sounds) and the huge fruit did dominate a bit. Despite this mis-match, I really enjoyed the wine. I've been drinking a lot of Bordeaux lately, and it was fun to mix things up with something completely different. Thanks for the topic; it was great to drink PS again.