Rosenblum Cellars 2005 Petie Syrah

peterdorsi

Tasting Tags: berry blackberry fruity rich spice

Rosenblum Cellars 2005 Petie Syrah

cliffordjames

ON THE NOSE: In a word: yummy! This Petite Sirah owns a great nose even just after popping, as long as you like a fruitbomb. This smells of very concentrated secondary fruit galore: predominantly blackberry (truly, so very like a blackberry cobbler), but also black currants and concentrated raspberry. There is mocha here, without a doubt. Sweet cream emanates from the top of the bottle in a luscious fashion and is present in the glass as well. This is “baked-in-a-pie” fruit, folks: big, rich, luscious, and over-the-top. Toast and jam. Wham bam, here I am! That being said I have to admit that the nose does keep me coming back BECAUSE of its supreme audacity. The bottle says “creamy orange zest,” and after being given that suggestion I can sense it there, sure. . . . . . . . . ON THE PALATE: Uh, YEAH! Can you say F R U I T B O M B ? If you haven’t yet actually consumed a wine that is one, here’s your chance. This is sweet as all get-out (um, I don’t really know exactly how sweet “all get-out” is, but it is probably quite so)! After such a dense bouquet the attack is quite promising, with an immediate plush, round mouthfeel, followed by a small but extant explosion containing a small splash of acidity as the elixir hits your upper palate, and a moderate tannic propulsion to the gums, yet much of it stays in the front of the mouth. The structure is definitely shy for such a bold wine. The acidity wanes into the back of the throat, the tannins dissolve sooner than one would like, and the finish is actually a little watery, with a hint of chocolate, but watery, “like a YooHoo, a watery chocolate drink” says Darcey, “it’s like drinking juice, in that way.” . . . . After our palates get used to this wine, and after several hours of life in the decanter, we notice another taste filling in where the mid-palate was: ashes. Wood ashes. Something here that is not sweet! All in all this is a decent wine, but definitely too sweet, even after many hours. The finish, as mentioned, lacks, as does the overall structure. I would give this wine a pass, but I know that many out there would be able to look past these inequities and end up liking this wine. For us, it’s just too damned sweet.

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