I had such good luck reconnecting with the old friend in the post below, the Sterling Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, I decided to revisit another old friend. This time it was a Foppiano Petite Sirah from Sonoma's Russian River Valley. From the early 1990s to the early 2000s I hardly missed a vintage of this wine. Then it seemed to disappear from the local market, but a bottle from the 2009 vintage made its way from the winery to my table courtesy of some friends who visited the winery in June.
There was never anything shy about this wine from Foppiano and it was good to see that things haven't changed. The wine was inky dark but faded to a neon/electric purple on the edges of the glass. The bouquet was very closed for a few minutes but eventually dark fruit aromas of blackberries, black raspberries and dry earth emerged. This is a broad shouldered wine that makes no apologies for being big. It is quite a mouthful, but there is acid and tannin to support the heavy fruit flavors of blackberries, blueberries and cinnamon. This wine will never be elegant - it still tastes and feels rustic and that is maybe the best part of its charm. It washed down a a grilled rib steak and some duck fat fried potatoes like the three were best friends for life. Good stuff.
2009 Foppiano Vineyards Russian River Valley Petite Sirah. 14.9% alcohol. $20+, but this one was a gift.
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