As I mentioned elsewhere, I recently ordered a sampler pack of three vintages' worth (2009-2011) of Mike and Kara Dunn's Retro Cellars Howell Mountain Petite Sirah, Old Vines. As the back label explains, this Petite is made from a sub-block planted in the 1950s of the old Park Muscatine Vineyard, from which Ridge made Zinfandel and Petite in the 70s-80s. I think the story is that when the vineyard was sold to Randy Dunn around 1990, the Zin was pulled to plant Cabernet, but he kept the Petite. I think the Petite may now have been pulled and replanted with something else, too; not sure. Anyhow, I was eager to get some of this while there was still some to get, because every time I have a really good Petite Sirah, I have the blasphemous thought that I might even like it more than Zinfandel. So we opened a 2009, and it was terrific. Sure, it's beefy and tannic, but not overwhelmingly so; there's a lot of depth and complexity, with vivacious interplay among dark, brooding fruit and tar, wet gravel, bacon, and a whiff of flowers. It's really enjoyable now, but strikes me as having the balance and the power to age gracefully too. $41 as part of a case.
The other really nice discovery of the week was a Domaine Les Poëte 2013 Reuilly, a really delicious Loire Pinot Noir that combined freshness and verve with more ripeness than I'd expected (this was a good thing: I wanted it to be able to take on homemade char siu) and a touch of earthy funk; even when I misremembered the price as north of thirty bucks I thought it was solid, but when I looked it up and saw it had only been $20, I thought: great deal!
In other news, an Unti 2013 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel was not my favorite of the Untis I've tried recently; I think I'm starting to lean toward his work with Italian varieties like Montepulciano more than toward the Zins and Rhônes. They have a little more zip and are a little less heavy. Likewise, a Volpaia 2013 Chianto Classico, one of our regular labels for weeknight Italian reds along with Badia a Coltibuono and Castellare, seemed disappointingly shut down; maybe we need to keep branching out.
And, finally, switching colors, an Edmunds St. John 2003 Paso Robles "Los Robles Viejos," Rozet Vineyard, a Viognier-Marsanne-Roussane blend, was drinking deliciously, showing a lot of beeswax and white pepper, with ripe pear and even a little tropicality then shading toward a spicy finish. This is still totally vibrant and I didn't detect any sign of decline, except maybe for a little astringency on the finish, as though the back end of the fruit were just starting to dry out.