For my first day in California, we did a Petite Sirah comparison from different regions in California. They were all 8-12 years old. It’s about as Californian as you can get, since 90% of Petite Sirah is from the US, almost all in California.
I finally have some time to recap some of the wines I tasted in February while in California. My uncle had some Petite Sirah that he wanted to check on, fearing they were getting too old. I grabbed a couple of Petite Sirahs from my cellar and picked out a few of his, trying to make sure each was from a different part of California. His Petite Sirahs were all 10+ years old, so I thought it would also be a nice follow up to the 2014 Carlisle Petite Sirah I tasted a couple of years ago, which was still quite primary at 10 years old. Let’s see how these Petite Sirahs evolved at around the same age.
The Lineup
The Aaron Petite Sirah from Paso Robles is something I bought for my namesake, but it’s less the style I generally want except on a cold winter’s day with stew. It’s a full-throttle, ripe, high alcohol Petite Sirah from a warm region. I visited their tasting room 8 years ago and kept this bottle. The Legacy Petite Sirah from Alexander Valley Sonoma was something I picked up recently. I saw it’s from really old vines, so I included it in the comparison. I threw in one of my uncle’s Turleys from the Napa Valley floor. Turley Petite Sirahs and Zins are usually big wines but still balanced. I’m rarely disappointed by Turley. Then I grabbed a couple of more of his wines from producers I wasn’t familiar with: one from the Russian River Valley and one from Howell Mountain to bring in more diverse climates for growing Petite. The Russian River Valley should be cooler than the Alexander Valley in Sonoma while Howell Mountain Napa wines are usually big and structured being above the fog line for warmer days but cooler at night at higher elevation. Plus, there’s more volcanic soil at Howell Mountain. Let’s taste. 
Tasting Notes
2013 Macrae Family Winery Russian River Valley Bacigalupi Vineyard Petite Sirah
Already quite evolved. Dried plummy notes with spice, leather, licorice, verging on mushroom. There’s good acidity still and present but mostly resolved tannins. Warm but not hot at 14.6%. This vineyard is more known for Pinot (hence cooler climate), and so perhaps that explains why this is a relatively lighter style of Petite Sirah, but it’s already 12+ years old too. Nose is more evolved than the palate which still has some ripe, fresh fruit as it opens up. But I think it’s in its drinking window at the moment unless you want it full on tertiary. 91
2013 Retro Cellars Elevation Howell Mountain Napa Petite Sirah
Similar evolved nose to the Macrae but less expressive. The palate falls short and clumsy on the mid and back end. Feel the alcohol more. There’s less acidity. Slightly rougher tannins. Disappointing since Howell Mountain usually produces robust ageworthy wines and this feels like it’s fallen apart. However, I’ve never heard of this producer. Maybe it integrates with more air and time. 87
2014 Turley Napa Library Vineyard Petite Sirah
This is immediately younger and fresher than the two 2013s despite being just a year younger. Still piercing acidity. A step up in power. Mix of dark and red fruit. Tannins are better managed. Soft but present. No heat. Still plenty of time to age. 93+
2016 Aaron Petite Sirah Paso Robles
Petite Sirah with 12% Syrah. Aged in 55% new oak. Darker, rounder, riper, least acid of the previous older Petite Sirah. A bit of chocolate. Highest alcohol but it holds well except there’s a bit of camphor at the end and you feel it in your throat some. Needs some rich meaty stew. Small production. Only around 400 cases made. This will have mass appeal for its ripeness and roundness, but I want more acidic structure. It’s excellent for its style. 92
2017 Legacy (Stonestreet) Fieldstone Vineyard Petite Sirah Alexander Valley
85% Petite Sirah, 15% Syrah. Dry farmed from a vineyard planted in 1894. Most complete of the 5 Petite Sirah. Has the roundness and fruit of the Aaron but with more acidity but not as much as the Turley Library but there’s also spice and meatiness, savory notes to make it more complex. Refined tannins. Maybe the Turley has more aging potential but this I enjoyed the most now even though it’s the youngest. 93