Category Archives: Petite Sirah

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2021 Salman Vineyards Petite Syrah, Jeff Runquist Wines

NotesOfNote has suffered throughout 2023 because of my various distractions and competing priorities, but having sampled this Jeff Runquist over the past week it’s high time to get back to spreading the joy of good grapes. Any reasonable reader of Notes may be aware that his 1448 is a go-to weeknight wine for this oenophile. On rare occasions, though, I’ve had the great pleasure of sampling the next tier of Runquists.

2021 R Petite Syrah, Salman Vineyard, Jeff Runquist Wines, Clarksburg, California, USA.
2021 R Petite Syrah, Salman Vineyard, Jeff Runquist Wines, Clarksburg, California, USA.

To read previous reviews of the 2017, please be sure to view here or more fully here. Thanks, as always, for coming along for the ride here with Notes.

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2018 Karoly’s Selection Petite Sirah, Buena Vista Winery

2018 Karoly's Selection Petite Sirah, Buena Vista Winery, Sonoma County, California. Expanding the vertical flight @BuenaVistaWines
2018 Karoly’s Selection Petite Sirah, Buena Vista Winery, Sonoma County, California. Expanding on the vertical flight, this is bottle #0939 and previous reviews of the 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014 vintages can be reviewed on Notes at your convenience.
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2018 Chronicle Cabernet Sauvignon, Rebel Wine

The attributes of this wine line right up to the preferences of this oenophile. The 2018 Chronicle is produced on California’s North Coast, it’s a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (88%) and Petite Sirah (12%), and has an intriguing label that just may include an individually numbered bottle. Let’s dig deeper…

Generally, the North Coast includes Mendocino, Lake, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, and Marin counties. St. Helena is just west of the Mayacamas Mountains, located in the Napa Valley AVA, and is home to many of California’s best-known wines. The Valley itself extends about 30 miles from Napa at the south to Calistoga in the north, right along Route 29 and including St. Helena.

Fog in the region impacts its vineyards in meaningful and very specific ways. The complexities of cool and warm climates, sunlight, ocean airs, and earthquakes makes for diverse appellations and even subappellations conducive to different types of grapes (e.g., Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon), even among neighboring growers and towns. It’s a place that beckons to my soul even while I’m jotting a few notes for you all here.

2018 Chronicle Cabernet Sauvignon, Rebel Wine, St. Helena, California, USA.

The 2018 Chronicle is a medium- to full-bodied dry red blend, with dark fruit notes that I’m calling more blackberry or black cherry than plum. Sometimes my palate can pick that up; other times it’s less clear so use your own judgment here. I do smell a bit of leather in my glass, and the peppery finish is suggestive of both the Cab and Sirah grapes for the wine.

We had the Chronicle with Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon, served with mashed potatoes and green beans. It was flat-out great, with tenderly seared beef and vegetables so tender…wow! Those who follow Notes regularly know the meal is often less relevant to this taster than is the accompanying wine, but this is not one of those occasions. The dish was so rich and savory that I really thought less of the Chronicle and more of the food flavors. Understand me: the wine is tasty but the stew even better.

The label (but less easy to support with online research) suggests that Joel Gott and Charles Bieler are the vintners here for the 2018 Chronicle. Thanks gents for your contribution to a great evening. I enjoyed your wine and will buy more in the future, but what I’m really excited to repeat is the Beef Bourguignon.

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2017 Salman Vineyard Petite Sirah, Jeff Runquist Wines

Held back this Jeff Runquist gem for as long as possible but finally uncorked it after emerging largely unscathed from the week’s challenges. Notes has covered the vineyard often (most often for its 1448), including this Petite Syrah on multiple occasions. This is more of the same goodness and you’re encouraged to chase down the 2017 Salman Vineyard Petite Sirah. 

2017 Salman Vineyard Petite Sirah, Jeff Runquist Wines, Plymouth,California, USA.
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2017 Z R. Salman Vineyard Petite Sirah, Jeff Runquist Wines

Notes has covered Jeff Runquist wines on several occasions since first meeting the winery, and it’s a staple on my dinner table even when not covered in these pages. The 1448 in particular, and the Runquist Petite Sirah first on my birthday back a few years ago. On that happy occasion I sampled the Sirah first on a winestore tasting machine and, having enjoyed that experience so much, had it for dinner that night at Del Frisco’s in Charlotte. Good memories of all that…

2017 Z R. Salman Vineyard Petite Sirah, Jeff Runquist

2017 Z R. Salman Vineyard Petite Sirah, Jeff Runquist Wines, Plymouth, CA.

Let’s be clear. This is great juice; big and full mouthfeel that hurls the dark fruits at your palate. It pours—like all my favorite Sirah—so purple in your glass that it’s nearly black. You smell blackberry and plum and try to think of other dark berries as the notes waft up at you from the glass. This 2017 finishes so smooth that you come back for another glass, and then another refill without even noticing the bottle has quietly slipped out the back door.

I’m not yet sure of the significance of the Z. R. Salman Vineyard and will research that and share here on another day. Know that this 2017 accompanied first a fiercely contested game of rummy 500 and then a “make it up as you go” dinner. Mine consisted of kale, sausage, garlic, leeks, and green onion over quinoa (sambal oelek as an accent)—an interesting mashup of spices to which the Z. R. Salman Petite Sirah held up very well.

Here are notes from a gent (Jim Gordon) more polished than me: “Big, spicy and almost sweet, this showy and full-bodied wine overflows with chocolate, baking-spice and blackberry syrup flavors. It’s tannic, but the richness of the fruit and the sweet-seeming oak component soften it nicely.”

Always enjoy a day that includes a little Runquist and know you will too. Thanks for reading and enjoy your holiday weekend.

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2017 Karoly’s Selection Petite Sirah, Buena Vista Winery

Buena Vista Winery has been good to me for a long time. My first taste came during a pop-in visit during a Sonoma wine country trip, and Buena Vista wine has become a staple to which I often turn for life’s celebrations, large and small. This evening included!

2017 Karoly’s Selection Petite Sirah, Buena Vista Winery, Sonoma County, California, USA.

Thus, the 2017 Karoly’s Selection Petite Sirah celebrates the end of a long streak: I had gone nearly 20 years without breaking a bone (and funny how so many of the fellas remember that occasion and its poor choices) but that run was fractured this week. Officially it’s a closed, non-physeal metatarsal fracture at the lesser toe. Don’t bother looking that up—means I broke a small bone in my foot near the smallest toe. Three quick x-rays told the doctors all they needed, and I’m now in a ridiculous little walking shoe. It’s not quite a “boot” but still makes me feel clumsy.

So did cutting my index finger earlier this week…and the puncture wound I made in my palm just now. In a week filled with bad moves, the best two I made were inviting a special lady to join me for a post-emergency room dinner and serving us this 2017 Karoly’s Selection. This wine pours crazy dark purple in the glass, and it packs pungent earthy notes into its intense berry flavors. You have definite plum and black cherry or blackberry scents in play. It’s aged 18 months in 100% French oak (30% new). We both nodded in appreciation and set forth on this wine plus Greek food that included salads (cucumber sauce!), kabobs (both chicken and lamb), and carbs—for at least one of us 🙂

The Buena Vista team remarks, “On the palate, bold flavors of blackberries, raspberries, and a hint of cola lead to a full body with rich tannins, well-balanced acid, and a satisfying, lingering finish.”

Really good grapes! I just ordered another bottle tonight for February shipment and that’ll be fun to enjoy too. 

This bottle of 2017 Karoly’s Selection Petite Sirah is individually numbered, and 5381 has been a real treat. Raise your glasses, to yourselves, your loved ones, and to the start of a new streak—hopefully one that’ll carry me through the rest of my days. Thanks as always for your readership.