Charcoal, blackberry, and a little booze on the back end. A little warmer (room) temperature leveled out the finish. Cooling off would regain focus; so, I recommend this at cellar temperature.…
The one thing I was curious about with this sample was the integration of the Viognier element. Past infant Sumos have been overridden by the floral component put out by the Viognier, masking what…
Though I was admittedly less drawn to the second vintage iterations of the Allbaer collection (they were not PS), I continue to love this inaugural representation of the brand, finding the Un Petit…
At first shy on the nose but eventually presenting faint puffs of freshly washed plums, peonies, and hints of menthol, the aromas on this curious petite sirah signal a fragrantly lifted and refined…
Previous notes apply. Resolved and likely as integrated as it will get before it starts to move into the later stages of its evolution. Black and purple fruits dominate. PnP was good service. Drink…
Nearly three years ago I had this from barrel and it showed tremendous promise. Now having been in bottle a few years, this wine is certainly on its way to becoming a beautiful representation of the…
Wild blackberry, black river rock, camphor, railroad tie, creosote, black soil, and dark black plum. Beautifully resolved and kicking out funky flavors that completely elevate the purple/black core…
This has lost a little steam since I last had it in 2016. Still "fine," but not as attention-grabbing as in the past. I like it. I don't love it. A Tuesday night throw-down with pizza kind of wine…
Dark black and purple core fruit, with black raspberry, black currant, black pebbles, railroad tie, and some cedar. Decent grip and some evolution and layering of flavors across the palate from the…
Seems to have faded a bit since I last had this a year or so ago. Nothing wrong with it technically, but exhibiting only some basic notes of red and purple berry, plum, camphor, and some wet wood and…
As others have noted, this needs some time to deepen its flavor profile and get out of its flatter, linear delivery. Still maintained fairly good balance, with some higher toned red and purple berry…
Funky and earthy notes of wild blackberry, plum, railroad tie, camphor, black tar, black wet cedar, soil, and some limestone. A hint of barnyard and Mary Jane on the back end, taking a bit away from…
Hot damn! When I'm in the mood for a good PS, I look no further than a SBR PS. This 2010 is singing beautifully. Power and grace, depth and flavor...What a fun ride of a wine. Deeply pitched…
Notes of black raspberry, wild blackberry, green and black olive, green peppercorn, and some mossy wet black slate. A little bit funkafied, with a clipped and clunky finish. It was ok, but a somewhat…
When in doubt, go for the port? Well... It was a rocket-fuel injected vintage port version, with syrupy blackberry and Absolut flavors clashing into each other. The finish was a blast of straight…
Not much better than the Greenwood, this PS suffered from the same lackluster performance and complete milquetoast flavor delivery. Thin and forgettable.
Almost unidentifiable as a Petite Sirah. The wonderful intense fruit flavors of this varietal didn't come through at all in this wine... and this was supposed to be Vincent Arroyo's flagship wine.…
I love SBR Petites and have had great luck with them. They are generally extracted, high octane monsters that are still fun to drink and experiment with in terms of hedonistic pleasure and downright…
It's been six months since my last bottle of this. Previous notes apply. After two hours in the decanter, this was singing beautifully. Rich without being heavy or over bearing (the way some PSs can…
Much like the Zinfandel, this seemed to lack a little focus; a sort of afterthought wine. For a PS, it was too cranberry and black cherry driven for my tastes. It didn't have the depth I would've…
It's been a year and a half since I last had this. It's good. It's nothing that gets me fired up for anything in particular, but it served its purpose with packaged pasta and red sauce (you get the…
