Turley - the world's greatest Petite Sirah producer?

WINE TALK
21

So do I!

22

Switchback Ridge Old Vines petite floats my boat!!

23

Really nice stuff - I’ll be tasting this next week.

24

I looked through the Massena website recently, recalling how dark, rich, yet delightfully balanced the 2006 “Howling Dog” Barossa Valley Durif was over the years I tasted it.

Alas, the Australian winery still bottles an assortment of traditional and atypical wines, but no Petite Syrah/Durif was to be found. Instead, the “Howling Dog” is now composed of…Superavi!


I am tempted to pop a PS after reading this thread, but my sole bottle within easy reach is the Once & Future “Palisades Vineyard” which, obviously, deserves a good many years prior to tasting. Plus, summer in Louisiana is hardly the time to pop a super-rich red!! :astonished:

25

Different winemaker now. And I do notice most of the Petites are now below 15% alcohol. The 2012 was 14.3%.

26

When Scholium Babylon is on, it is epic. 2004 was a mind-bender.

27

Cool! We’re tasting with Kelly and Ray in about 10 days.

28

It will take an even longer run from Turley to supplant Ridge.

29

Switchback Ridge PS…I usually add water!

30

Just bought a 1993 Turley Hayne Vineyard PS. I’ll report back once I pop the cork.

31

Completely agree! Lucky enough to have 5 of the 2004 in the cellar. So good.

32

I opened a 95 Turley Hayne PS and was pleasantly surprised. It had good balance, not too hot, not dull, with lots of fruit. The tannins are just about resolved.

33

What were your expectations? And why?

34

I really think this is an interesting discussion - and one whose answer is really dependent on a number of clarifications:

  1. For those of us who have never had an older Ridge York Creek, it’s ‘impossible’ to know that they are like now unless sourced OR know what they were like upon release or shortly after.

  2. Many Turley PS’s are really not ‘open for business’ for numerous years - and don’t show well young at all.

  3. I’ve had a few of the Carlisle PS’s and they are quite good - not sure of ‘the best’.

  4. The Switchback Ridge PS’s are ENORMOUS - that’s why FMIII always pops them open as dessert wines :slight_smile:

  5. Vincent Arroyos are quite nice - as are Stags Leap and the Quixote ones.

  6. I am a big fan of Jaffurs PS from Thompson - open for business when young but continues to develop nicely.

I guess it depends upon what you are looking for in a PS - something that is drinkable young AND with age? Something that is only noteworthy with age? Do you want the ‘PS Structure and Wall of Tannin’ or something else? Can a PS be ‘great’ if it shows well young?

So many wonderful examples - but difficult to narrow down . . .

35

Thought I had posted on this thread but I’ve been confused before.

There is zero mention to date of some true classics.

If you have not had Petite Sirahs from the following producers, both on release and at ≥10 years, please withhold your judgments of the “world’s greatest Petite Sirah producer”.

Foppiano
Parducci
Pedroncelli

If it turns out you like them, an added advantage is that you might
a) save a few cents per bottle compared to many of those mentioned, and
b) be able to find them relatively easily

Dan Kravitz

36

Another vote for Vincent Arroyo.

Tom

37

Thank you. I think it was a Parducci from the ‘70s that really impressed me the last time I was at Bern’s. It was worlds better than any young PS I’ve had, and I strongly suspect it was better than pretty much anything mentioned here will ever become. That will depend on personal preference, of course, but these super ripe, heavily oaked wines will never have the nuance or complexity that that had, in my opinion.

38

Bdklein asks me what my expectations were and I guess they were low because
1/there have been so many bottles in my cellar where i was waiting for the right moment and the right moment was ten years earlier.
2/I am not crazy about PS except when it is blended with Zinfandel etc.
3/My feeling with aged PS is…I could have aged a cabernet, pinot or zinfandel…

In this case I keep thinking, What if they had blended something else in?

I have had so many wines made from petite Syrah where the tannins outlived all the other ingredients.

All that said, this was certainly as good as any of the aged Ridge and Stags Leap/Quixote/Doumani PS wines I’ve had.

39

Have a 76 Parducci I got on the cheap at auction that I’ve been looking forward to opening. Now even more so after your comments.

40

Speaking of monsters…probably regarded as one of Australia’s best Durif/Petite Sirah wines (from the Rutherglen region which is also famous for it’s Muscat/Tokay fortifieds)

https://www.warrabillawines.com.au/product/2015-parolas-limited-release-durif/
17% alc [swoon.gif]

Although the grape doesn’t get the attention it does in the US so there are no flagship level wines.