2004 David Bruce Petite Sirah

Petite Sirah is a grape I know virtually nothing about. And, if you do a little research about the vine, even the so called experts don’t really know that much about it either. Is it really a grape the French call Durif? Is it really Peloursin? Who knows! My wife and I are a fan of David Bruce Pinot Noir’s so we decided to try this Petite Sirah. We paired the wine with a Crab stuffed Chicken Breast.

We both thought the wine was very good but not exceptional. Not overly spicy but with a with a touch of cedar and a cherry fruit forward taste. The wine is not very complex but we both thought it suited the food very well. For such a young wine the tannins were balanced and round. We thought it was a keeper for chicken and fish pairings.

Reininger 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley

Lisa visited some very good friends in Seattle last week and brought back some very good wine from the trip. I had asked her to find some Washington Cabs that were special. Mission accomplished. I don’t know that much about Washington wines except what I read about them in the various wine publications. My experience has been limited to the famous well distributed Washington reds labels like Chateau St. Michelle and Cougar Crest. This wine is outstanding. It’s well balanced and jammy with a great flavors of black currant, and vanilla pouring through the taste. The tanninc structure is firm and ripe. If you are a fan of Napa Cabs  this Walla Walla Cab is structured like many of the better ones for about half the price.