2014 Le P’Tit Paysan, Petite Sirah, Monterey County.
One of Monterey’s sleeper wines and best values, Ian Brand’s Le P’Tit Paysan Petite Sirah is an extremely pleasing full bodied red with lots of unique personality and balanced terroir driven character, which includes an inner energy (lift) and subtle refinement. This brilliantly purple/garnet hued Petite Sirah (Durif) was fermented with partial whole cluster, about 30%, getting a long cold soak for gentile extraction with lees aging in barrel, Brand using mostly neutral, used French barriques, for 11 months, and some bottle resting before release, allowing for a wine of graceful tannins and the utmost purity. This Petite comes off Pierce Ranch Vineyard in the San Antonio Valley, it’s a site that gives warm days and cool nights, perfect for getting even ripeness with lower sugar levels, in fact Brand had his blocks picked at a very lively 22 Brix or below, but still has textural density and lush mouth feel and length with an intriguing low natural alcohol. The area’s limestone, shale and decomposed granite soils add to the wines quality and gives a stony influence, which reminds me somewhat of a Northern Rhone Syrah, similar to the Halcon Vineyards Yorkville Highlands version, it’s one of few other recent examples of Petite Sirah that takes this stylistic path, which I am thrilled about! This Le P’Tit Paysan Petite Sirah, with 2% Counoise, is deeply colored and with a nose of dark floral tones, wild sage, black fruits and mineral charm before leading to it’s full bodied and structured palate of blackberry, racy currants, tree picked plum and sweet kirsch along with a touch of chalk and flint, minty anise, cedar and incense. While full and firm as you’d expect from this grape, this wine is evolving and gains a satiny vinous side, lingering with blueberry and violets, though stays focused and bright throughout, it also is wonderful with robust and rustic cuisines, plus it was beautiful with hard cheeses and cured meats, this is a hard to beat for the price offering from a talented winemaker, drink for the next 3 to 5 years.
($22 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

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