2009 Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Peterson Family Vineyard
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Tasting notes
Youthful medium ruby color with virtually no hint of development. Slightly liqueur-like aromas of blueberry, dark raspberry, black pepper and licorice. A concentrated, tactile black fruit bomb with complicating notes of licorice and dark chocolate. More aggressive than refined, but still impressively primary and in need of patience to absorb more of its baby fat. Finishes with serious tannins and excellent spicy persistence. (15.5% alcohol)
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Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(15.5% alcohol, from a blend of clones 337 and 7): Bright ruby-red. Wild aromas of raspberry, blackberry, leather, licorice, smoke and game. Lush and large-scaled, with a slightly liqueur-like quality to the black raspberry and creamy oak flavors. Finishes with big but ripe tannins and a lingering chocolate liqueur flavor. The rather muscular clone 7 tannins are always slow to evolve, notes winemaker Bob Foley. Still a bit reduced today and worth following. (My sample of the Petite Sirah was distinctly porty and too chocolatey-hot for me.)