If you’ve felt confused about Syrah, Shiraz and Petite Sirah, I’ll clear it up for you here: Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape, Petite Sirah is a whole different, unrelated varietal. Despite its name, Petite Sirah is no small grape, it’s actually quite powerful and big!
We just wrapped up GSM month and, in case you didn’t join us for the adventure, the S stands for Syrah. Syrah is a surprisingly light to medium bodied red wine with many earthier tones. Since we only tasted Syrah a few weeks ago, I chose to introduce Petite Sirah for the purpose of contrast. Petite Sirahs are often on the “boldest” and “fullest bodied” end of the wine spectrum, are typically strongly fruit-forward and rarely possesses prominent earthy traits. “Jammy” is a typical descriptor word that you hear with Petite Sirah.
This week’s Parducci True Grit Reserve Petite Sirah did not stray from the typical expectations of Petite Sirah but did bring it’s own unique traits. The color was a deep ruby and the full body nature is very evident in the glass. I had to make multiple attempts to find a jewel as the wine was so heavy, only the right light could penetrate the viscosity. The aromas were jammy, but not the overwhelming or artificial jammy that you get in a lot of massed produced wines today. The presence of pepper, leather, cherry and a dark, bitter chocolate were also present. In the taste were flavors of oak, cherry, and a soft tobacco finish. The tannins were undoubtedly present – a favorite feature of mine! My overall thoughts were that though this wine held true to its Petite Sirah roots, I really like that it mixed it up with some subtle earthy traits.
I gave this wine a 4 out of 5 rating. The typical retail price is $16-20.
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