TN: 95 Arroyo, Petite Sirah

[Florida Jim]

1995 Vincent Arroyo, Petite Sirah:

There isn’t much fruit on the nose, rather elements of scorched earth, hickory smoke, asphalt, flowers and a very deep, dark-spice note; in the mouth its blackberry soda with accents from the nose, very grippy and just a little watery; moderate length, mouth-coating but pretty drying.

Here is one of those rarities – the oak has “integrated.” But it also has altered the basic make-up of the wine and diminished the fruit. Nothing complex here (unless you count the number of different charred-wood manifestations) and although it’s not a bad wine, it says nothing about petite sirah and gives little reason to want more.

And once again, I am persuaded that there is simply no reason to cellar petite sirah; either I like it on release or I shouldn’t buy it because it’s not going to change for the better.

Best, Jim