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Featured Wines
Latest News February 3rd, 2012
Hospice du Rhone 22 Questions with Jeff
February 2nd, 2012
HdR 1: First wine ever made?
JC: Elderberry wine from a kit.
HdR 2: Do you have a name for your press? If so what is it? JC: No name for the press.
HdR 3: If you had to choose another region to craft wines in what would it be? JC: Martinique
HdR 4:...
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Tasting Notes Archive
2004 Frediani Vineyard Petite Syrah
"This powerful, intense wine comes from extremely old Petite Syrah vines just southeast of the town of Calistoga, with an average vine age of 80 years old. Huge mouth feel, while still maintaining smooth tannins, are the hallmark of these vines and this ancient vineyard. This wine has plenty of graphite, blackberry, chocolate, and smoke. All clusters are hand-sorted, de-stemmed, fermented in ½ ton open top bins, punched down 5 times per day, then pressed directly into burgundian French oak barrels. The 2004 growing season experienced a very early, warm spring followed by very moderate summer conditions. Early September brought some heat spikes around Labor Day, and then temperatures decreased to allow for more hang time. An early harvest was predicted because bud break, bloom, and verasion were ahead of normal. Crop size for Frediani Vineyard was 20% lower than usual, producing a wine with amazing concentration and complexity. We harvested the Petite Syrah 10 days earlier than the previous vintage, which gave us very ripe fruit with higher acids." -Jeff Cohn Tasting Notes Sometimes the stars and planets line up just right, sometimes magic happens, and sometimes wines become less about the grape, soil, grower, vineyard, and the winemaker. Sometimes a wine transcends all this. The 2004 Frediani Petite Syrah Cuvée Speciale is a wine experience like none other that I have encountered since starting JC Cellars. This wine took nearly 24 months to finish fermentation in the barrel.
An offering that will last 20-25 years is the 2005 Petite Syrah
Frediani Vineyard. Backward, with notes of blueberries, crushed rocks,
violets, and spring flowers, this dense, tannic, super-extracted effort
is still an infant in terms of development. Forget it for 5-6 years,
and drink it over the following 2-3 decades
Exhibits an opaque blue/purple color in addition to sweet aromas of
blueberries, crushed rocks, and white flowers. Powerful, concentrated,
and amazingly intense as well as rich, it should easily evolve for two
decades or more. This grape remains the most underrated high quality
varietal in California, especially for longevity.
Beautifully crafted, rich and spicy, with exotic wild berry,
hazelnut, plum and black cherry, this wine offers lots of finesse and
polish, ending with a long, integrated finish that keeps repeating the
delightful flavor themes. Best from 2006 through 2012.
Readers should not be misled by the label which lists a modest 17%
alcohol, because it does not taste or smell hot. The color is a
saturated blue/purple, and the wine is almost painfully concentrated
and intense, but very pure. Despite what I am sure will be
protestations from the alcoholphobes, it is remarkably well balanced.
Although I would not go so far as to call it "vivacious", it is a
heavyweight example of Petite Sirah at its biggest and richest. It
undoubtedly has 20-30 years of aging potential.
This wine comes from a 60-80-year old block of Petite Syrah planted
just outside the warmer end of Napa near Calistoga. The color is an
inky/blue/purple, and the nose offers up sumptuous aromas of violets,
black fruits, crushed rocks, chocolate, and espresso. Enormously
endowed yet remarkably civilized for a wine of such mass, it reveals
impeccable winemaking along with tremendous purity as well as depth.
This is not for readers looking for lighter-styled reds as it is
full-throttle Petite Syrah fury captured in a bottle. It should age
well for 15+ years.
Petite can't get any darker - this is a surprisingly sleek and
supple youngster, given its level of tannins and fruit concentration.
The wild berry, blackberry and loganberry flavors are ripe, rich and
vibrant, ending with the tannic muscle you might expect. Drink now
through 2012.
The 2000 Petite Syrah Frediani Vineyard is a pedal to the metal,
full-throttle wine. Its opaque purple color accompanies a bouquet of
melted road tar, black fruits, and underbrush. Dense, chewy, and
moderately tannic, but not completely civilized; it should drink well
for 10-12 years.
Dark, intense, rich and offering a wealth of rip, juicy plum, wild
berry, floral and jammy blueberry pie flavors. Manages to tame its
tannins without sacrificing Petite's integrity. Drink now through 2008.
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