2006 Concannon Captain Joe’s Petite Sirah
I don’t think “Captain Joe” was actually a pirate, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to legitimately title a wine review with “Arrrrrr!” Forgive me.
Concannon Vineyard made the very first Petite Sirah in the United States. They’ve been doing it for 130-ish years now. So, they make a few different PS’s, and they tend to do them well.
The Captain Joe’s is 80% Petite Sirah and 20% Syrah, and this gives it more of an edge and cuts some of the berry that often accompanies Petite Sirah. It still stains the hell out of your teeth, though. (Don’t you love that about PS? I do.)
In the glass it’s a light garnet red with some nice sparkle. You can see through it just a bit, but not like a rose or anything. On the nose are some nice earthy notes, like mushroom and soil. It mixes with a pleasant espresso/coffee note: just a bit of a bitter burn smell, but very faint, and actually very pleasant, not at all “bad”-smelling.
The fruit of the Petite Sirah comes through on the palate in a big way. Sour cherry mixes with a light raspberry note and it all comes through with a medium body that coats the mouth just enough to announce its presence, without feeling heavy or overwhelming.
All in all, very pleasant, and perhaps the best of Concannon’s Petite Sirahs that I’ve enjoyed.
Verdict: B+
2006 Concannon Captain Joe's Petite Sirah
The “Prima Red” Lives Up To Its Name
Yeah, I’m back, raving about yet another wine from the Livermore Valley. Bored yet? Or, are you getting excited about trying some wines you haven’t had from a wine region that maybe you’d never even heard of before I started writing about it?
Oh my, the hubris.
At any rate, this is another winner from Tamas Estates, the Italian variety-focused arm of the Wente Vineyard empire. It’s a blend of 63% Barbera, 25% Merlot, and 12% Syrah. I almost thought, “oh, like a Super Tuscan!” and then I remembered that Barbera’s ancestral home is the Piedmont, not Tuscany. So… a “Super Piedmontan”? Perhaps.
The wine is a dark red in the glass, then lightens slightly, but not much, at the edges. On the nose is a dark chocolate note that actually hides just a bit of red cherry. The chocolate note is obviously the influence of oak mixed with some really great bitter and sweet notes that mingle around your nostrils and cheerily greet each other as they pass. Maybe they even high-five. I can’t be sure.
Good news for this party, it follows through on the palate. Chocolate, spice (like an allspice or ginger or something equally wonderfully bitter) and the cherry turns sour. Which is awesome, of course. The wine is refreshingly light in the mouth and is tannic enough that it might need another year or two. Make no mistake, this is a party wine—something to celebrate with—but it also has enough structure that just thinking about pairing it with a pork tenderloin or Cuban sandwich is getting my mouth watering.
Verdict: A-
A Marriage Of Livermore And Napa Cab Sauv
Back to the Small Lot series of wines from Wente, which gave us the pretty incredible 2007 GSM. This too is a blend, but not of varietals.
The 2007 Small Lot Duetto is 100% cabernet sauvignon. Where the blending comes in, is where these cab grapes come from. 51% are from the Livermore Valley, and 49% are from the Napa Valley. It makes for a very interesting, very fun cabernet.
First, Wente really avoided the Cardinal Sin of California Cab: this wine is in no way overoaked. There are no notes of tobacco, or nuts, or trees, or whatever. On the nose is a pleasant bouquet of black fruit, mainly blackberry and black cherry.
The wine is a bit chewy in the mouth. It’s got body and really feels full and heavy. The black fruit notes from the nose are joined on the palate by some very light spice notes and a remarkable sour red raspberry note.
It’s the kind of wine you swirl, and enjoy the color. You sniff, and think “yeah, smells like a good cabernet.” Then you sip, and are surprised. Pleasantly so, that this wine brings something to the table that many others do not, or cannot.
A very good cabernet that, unfortunately, may be very difficult to get ahold of. But if you get the opportunity, take it. The Duetto won’t disappoint.
Verdict: A-