There’s something about how Napa Valley does Petite Sirah. It’s so elegant, so refined, so almost cab-like. So different from the delta or Claksburg or DCV or Mendo versions. Where those gain their aplomb from harsh, brilliant rusticity and raw power, the Napa examples run eloquent and refined. This is a prime example. Black and impenetrable with a sliver of clear rim. Musty, dirty, buttery, fried-egg meatiness rises to the nose, a solidified experience part oak, part lascivious fruit, part peat and soil and redwood dearth. The fruit is carmelized to perfection, the fresh-mowed dog-park a swelling testament.

Tasting it introduces the shards of acid one requires without the blockbuster chewiness afore-mentioned AVA’s demand. Sultry and expressive, it knows no bounds in excell or extravagance. While tertiary is apparent, this is a timeless wine: I see it going NOWHERE fast in terms of decline. A classic variety made in classic form, the rich, sweet tincture of blackberry distilled down onto fine calfskin and velvet, a near-perfect wine I am sad to see as my last bottle. Tannins overwhelm the finish, a raspy end playing careful hop-scotch with glorious, tight berry. Get some. The nose is ethereal, the taste mind-bogglingly complex.

2011 KENEFICK RANCH Petite Sirah Calistoga Napa Valley 14.8

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