Bogle Petite Syrah, 2004 vintage
price: $12-13.00
suggested food pairings: grilled salmon or pork, hearty stews and chilis, simply prepared game meats

No one produces more Petite Syrah on the planet than California’s own Bogle Winery. No one. It is their trademark varietal, which they grow and vinify with pride and tender loving care. When the name Bogle comes up in a wine conversation loosely focused on high value wines, someone inevitably interjects something along the lines of “What about that Petite Syrah?” with a positive emphasis. Everyone agrees this dark purple wine is simply fabulous for the price.

I would like to take some time at this point to clear up the misconception that Syrah and Petite Syrah are closely related; it’s a drawn out story that actually begins in the 1880s in this country when the two probably were closely related… like I said, it’s a tangled tale. Suffice it to say that based on DNA evidence, modern California Petite Syrah is closely related to Carignan, or Zinfandel, or Barbera, or Grenache, or an ancient Rhône varietal called Peloursin. I hope this helps clear up everything—hard to believe there was ever any confusion!

One thing we know is that smaller red grapes are best for producing intense, extracted wines because of the higher skin to flesh ratio. Ounce for ounce, more tannin and color leaches from the skins to the juice, producing less-than-shy wines. This wine from Bogle is no exception. Deep inky purple, the nose shows bramble berry aromas with peppery spice, and produces athletic legs on the side of the glass. The wine is round in the mouth, with an oak component that dances a tango with the grape tannin and the fruit all at once. This all moves into a long, velvety berry finish that invites—no, demands—another sip.

Craig L. Pierce can be reached at craig_l_pierce[at]hotmail[dot]com.