2005 Foppiano Vineyards Estate Petite Sirah

Mission Codename: The Perfection

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Secure a stellar Petite Syrah for our demanding Operatives

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Foppiano Vineyards

Wine Subject: 2005 Estate Petite Sirah

Winemaker: Natalie West

Backgrounder: Several months have passed since we presented a great Petite Sirah. Our Operatives have been clamoring another. Great Petite Sirah is available in California, but it can take some clever sleuthing to find a really great example. When we put out the call for a killer Petite, the consensus among our Operatives was nearly unanimous: Infiltrate Foppiano. Agent Red was dispatched, and, while undercover there he discovered their 2005 Estate Petite Sirah. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes and mission report below

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deepest dark burgundy with an inky heart and beautiful purple edges. This wine has a heavy and tight-looking surface that, after swirling, reveals tightly-spaced legs that take a long while to emerge before they crawl slowly down the glass in chubby columns

Smell – A heady rush of jammy blackberry greets your nose, followed by smoky blueberry, bright cassis, dark plum, soft oak and clove. These sit atop notes of brown sugar, vanilla bean, pepper and black cherry

Feel – Big and chewy, right off the bat! Then, as the wine winds its way around your mouth, it coats softly, adding a lovely grippy dryness – particularly at the cheeks and lips

Taste – Rich and beautifully layered, with deeply concentrated flavors of dark stonefruit, ripe mixed dark berries, black cherry, plum, licorice, soft cedar and oak, underpinned by a softly fresh forest floor

Finish – Dry, chewy and lush with bold and dark flavors that begin softly tart, and then go sweet as flavors evolve and then tail off over a long interval

Conclusion – Ahhh, fantastic Petite Sirah, how I have missed you! Today’s wine is a delightful reminder of why I am so intrigued by this varietal. With a big, rich deliciousness and aromas that have us enjoying deep inhalations, this 2005 Foppiano Estate Petite Sirah is a very sensory wine. Add the taste and smell, the great feel of this wine and you have a very exciting overall drinking experience. Pair this wine with your bolder kitchen creations – or enjoy it all on it’s own. Stock up, because this is your final chance to purchase this remarkable treat.

Mission Report:

What follows, for your benefit, is a retransmission of our initial mission report, in which Agent Red describes how difficult it was to infiltrate Foppiano Vineyards:

Sometimes penetrating a winery can be extremely difficult. This cab be particularly frustrating when the winery in question is holding on to some fantastic goods.

In extreme cases, we have had to resort to rather dastardly tactics. Such was the case with Foppiano Vineyards, where we had to place our own sleeper within the organization. Compound the difficulty with the fact that this sleeper didn’t even know he was our creation. He had no idea that he was even working for us.

In order to pull off this remarkable feat of subterfuge, I called upon one of my best assets, wine industry veteran Agent Smith. You’ll recall from previous missions that Smith has worked in the most parts of the biz.

I expressed to Smith the frustration over my lack of success with Foppiano. Immediately, he hatched a plan! Weeks later he directed an asset of his own to interview for a newly created position at Foppiano. How this senior position came into existence I did not ask, but the asset – codename: Afterburner – was hired on the spot.

From there, it was just a simple matter of waiting while Afterburner got up to speed in his new position at the winery. Once he found his legs, Agent Smith put in a call and I had my meeting! A few days later and I had secured today’s incredible Foppiano wine.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Foppiano Winery and Vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.