Eaglepoint Ranch Winery

The “PS I Love You” gang has given Petite Sirah a big boost in this country, putting a fallen star back on a pedestal and turning on the Klieg lights. For that, this Petite lover cannot say “thank you” enough. Only thing is, some of the wine they’re pushing has spent too much time in the gym. This wine, from one of Mendocino County’s most individual and lovingly managed vineyards, takes you back to the days when Petite Sirah didn’t need monster size or expensive oak to make an impression.

The signature here is a cool, dense core of pure Pets fruit that just comes and comes and comes. At first you sniff varietally accurate dark blackberry and blueberry framed in sweet American oak. You get the same flavors in your mouth, along with toasted oak. But the tannins are from the grapes, not the barrels, which is how it should be with Petite Sirah. I’ll say right now that this wine would not likely win a bake-off against better-known Pets, particularly in the eyes of certain critics (you know who they are), but it is definitely polished enough for your weekend dinner table with any roasted meats or vegetables.

Reviewed April 20, 2007 by Thom Elkjer.