Stags' Leap Winery Petite Sirah 2010
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Blend: 77% Petite Sirah, 12% Syrah, 6% Grenache, 2% Carignane, 2% Mourvedre, 1% Viognier
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
If you're nostalgic for a time when Napa Valley was planted to petite sirah; when it offered reds that were savory and spicy rather than sweet; when you could afford to buy a Napa Valley red with the kind of complex herbal notes and layered tannic detail that would juice up roast lamb; well, that time is now. Decant a bottle and think, for a moment, that you're in southwest France.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Petite Sirah Napa, a blend of 77% Petite Sirah, 12% Syrah, 6% Grenache and the rest Carignan, Mourvedre and Viognier, is widely available as there are nearly 20,000 cases. This beautiful effort exhibits notes of raspberries, black cherry liqueur, crushed rocks, blueberries and other black fruits. At this stage it is still very much a fruit bomb, but I think the inclusion of the other varietals has toned it down and made it more approachable than a 100% Petite Sirah would be. This is a fascinating, pure, impressive wine to enjoy over the next two to three decades.
Rating: 90+ -
Wine Enthusiast
This is a ripe, vigorous young Petite Sirah. It's strong in tannins, with just enough acidity to make the black currant, roasted meat, plum and cedar flavors bright. This needs time; give it 5–6 years, and it should glide through 2020.
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A fashionable country resort in the mid-twentieth century, popular with Hollywood due to its 1892 stone Manor House and historic gardens, legends of bootleggers and gangsters, ghosts and gypsies, Stags' Leap has been home to three major family groups up through the modern revitalization of the winery that began in the 1970s.
Stags Leap Manor, as it was called in the 1920s, was known as one of the prominent country retreats in the Napa Valley at a time when resort and spa business was big. In addition to lodging and dining, amenities included lawn tennis, swimming, horseback riding, children's activities, golf, music, cards, a library, and Napa Valley wines and liquors (prior to and after Prohibition).
An intimate valley within the greater Napa Valley, Stags Leap is a place of natural beauty, storied buildings and gardens, a lively history, and a reputation for elegant wines showing finesse and intensity.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.