2010 Retro Petite Sirah Howell Mountain

The 2010 Petite Syrah is a dark, brooding beauty. Black cherries, plums, licorice, new leather and menthol. Time in bottle has softened some of the contours, something that Petite can always benefit from. The 2010 was made from Randy Dunn's Park Muscatine Vineyard, the source of Dunn's own 1990s Petite. Mike and Kara Dunn brought in their fruit in November and gave the wine 30 months in barrel. Dollops of Zinfandel, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon round out this distinctive Howell Mountain Petite Sirah. The 2010 is quite a bit more expressive than it was last year.

The 2010 Petite Sirah comes from an old site where Ridge Vineyards produced some limited production bottlings under their Advanced Tasting Program when this site was named the Park Muscatine Vineyard. Harvested in November, this formidable, tannic, backward 2010 Petite Sirah exhibits blueberry and blackberry fruit, spring flower notes, a hint of wet rocks, and a boatload of mouth-searing tannins. Forget it for 4-5 years and drink it over the following three decades.

The 2010 Petite Sirah Howell Mountain comes across as quite understated in this vintage, largely because of the very cold year. Sweet tobacco, mint, leather and licorice emerge gradually over time. The good news is that the 2010 will drink well pretty much upon release, but it lacks the explosiveness, depth and exuberance readers have come to expect from Retro over the last few years. Sweet red berries, mint and spices linger on the close.