I was really excited about this month's theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday: Petit Sirah, as picked by Sonadora of Wannabe Wino. Petit Sirah has a very loyal following and it was exciting to see how many other wine bloggers really love this varietal! First, let me give you some background on the grape itself. Petit Sirah is also known as the French grape "Durif." In 1997, scientists compared the grapes' DNA and it was determined that indeed, they are one and the same - just two different names. However, the grape is now rarely found in France. Australia and California are the leading producers of Petit Sirah, and the grape is also grown in Israel, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. The "petit" does not refer to the vines or the taste of the wine. It refers to the size of the grapes themselves.

I tasted four, yes four different bottles of petit sirah. Here are my notes:

2004 Foppiano Petit Sirah ($17.99) - I'm going to write about the Foppiano first just so I can get it out of the way. It was the most expensive bottle I tasted and it was also the most disappointing. The color on this was the characteristic gorgeous deep purple. The bouquet had delicious notes of raspberry, chocolate, licorice, and cedar. It was very promising and I couldn't wait to taste. I found the wine to be incredibly closed up and massively tannic. Now, I know that petit sirahs are characteristically tannic, but this was overwhelming. I detected virtually no fruit. Even after 20 minutes it didn't open up at all. I went back to the bottle a few hours later hoping for something... anything... Unfortunately, it just wasn't there. The finish on this wine was medium, but it took forever for the "cotton mouth" feel to go away. It seemed to suck every last drop of moisture off my tongue. I was very surprised because Foppiano is a well-known producer of Petit Sirah, and one of the grape's biggest champions. To me, the out-of-control tannins were too much. But here's the rub. Last night I went back to this bottle (two days after I opened it). Suddenly, it was a very different, dare I say enjoyable wine! Two. Days. Later. On one hand I'm happy that I am not considering the bottle a total loss. I enjoyed it very much with my ham and cheese sandwich with a side of Cool Ranch Doritos (obviously not an intended pairing). But on the other hand who opens a bottle of wine and plans on drinking it two days later? I suppose that this indicates a little time certainly won't hurt this wine. All in all, this isn't one I'll purchase again.

2004 Concannon Limited Release Petit Sirah ($11.99) - I found the Concannon to be a slight improvement over the Foppiano. The nose on this one was really interesting. I detected a bit of black current with what my husband described as "an overtone of kiwi." It was this slightly acidic, tropical note that we found interesting in a Petit Sirah. This was another heavily tannic wine, though not to the degree of the Foppiano. The tannins here are far more approachable. It was again difficult to detect fruit on this wine, but I was able to discern some unripenend blackberry flavor. There was also plenty of charred oak and just a tiny bit of smoke. The finish was smoother and didn't make my mouth feel like the Mojave Desert. I'm glad I tried this, but I'm not sure I'd buy it again.

2002 Barkan Petit Sirah ($9.99) - I thought it would be interesting to throw an Israeli Petit Sirah into the mix, and although this bottle was showing its age, it still drank quite nicely. The wine had aromas of dark cherry, oak, and a slight earthiness to it. Maybe a hint of tobacco? (Thought that might be stretching it). The wine had a decent structure with tannins that were definitely present, but not overbearing. It showed delicious blackberry and cherry fruit, with a smooth finish. People have this tendency to turn their noses up at Kosher wines, and it's really unfortunate because there are a lot of great wines out there that just happen to be Kosher. This is one of them.

2005 Huntington Petit Sirah ($14.99) - I saved the best for last. I first tried the Huntington Petit Sirah back in April and absolutely fell in love with it. Ever since, it has been my Petit Sirah of choice. The nose is full of blueberry and oak. The tannins provide a nice structure but aren't overwhelming. They're much softer than in the other wines I tasted. The Huntington has big fruit: blackberry and cherry. It's a little jammy with a bit of black pepper. The finish is smooth and silky and quite long. After trying the other three bottles, it remains my number one pick.

And thus ends my journey into Petit Sirah for now. Maybe I'm not as much of a Petit Sirah enthusiast as I thought I was (though I still adore the Huntington), but it was very interesting tasting the differences in these four wines. If you are a champion of the Petit Sirah grape, you might want to check out PS I Love You, which is an organization that aims "to promote, educate, and legitimize Petite Sirah as a noble varietal, with a special emphasis on its terroir uniqueness." Thanks again to Sonadora for hosting and for Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours for dreaming up the concept.