Happy Cellar Saturday! It's the first Saturday of the new month and that means it's time to raid the cellar for something at least a decade in the making and tonight I've opened a special wine from a stellar Napa Valley Vintage, the 2007 Stag's Leap Napa Valley Petite Syrah. I am a fan of Petite Syrah as I find that it's generally neither petite nor very Syrah like, as it tends to be a much bigger, bolder wine. I've decanted this wine and let it open up a bit so let's see how it's shaping up!
The wine is a deep, inky black at the center, with bright garnet along the edges, much more reminiscent of a Cabernet. The nose is an interesting combination of ripe black fruit intermingled with a bit of mint, green herbs and earthy notes of tar and basalt. The taste is exactly what you might expect from the aromas, with a rush of jammy fruit that quickly subsides to reveal flavors of green olives, white pepper and a bit of earthy funk midpalate. The tannins are quite subdued revealing a soft, voluptuous dry finish that lingers on the palate.
Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's an excellent sipping wine that might be a year or two past it's prime. This wine would pair well with just about any Labor Day fare, from grilled steak to barbecued ribs. Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rare grilled Angus New York Strip, along with some grilled leeks, fire roasted peppers and grilled corn on the cob. Cheers!
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