Trinitas 2005 Petite Sirah
I picked up this bottle of petite sirah down in South Carolina while I was visiting with family over the holidays. I believe there was some kind of tag attached to the wine saying it was “Doug’s Pick of the Week” or something like that. Trinitas is latin for trinity, the writing on the back of the bottle describes this as being the principal of Christianity (trinity that is, not the wine, but I digress …)
Trinitas 2005 Old Vine Petite Sirah
This wine comes Lodi California, which is to the east of Napa Valley. It has a beautiful dark purple color and appears almost viscous. On the nose it carries a very distinct oak smell. There is also a sharpness, almost a rubbing alcohol smell. After swirling it around in my glass for several moments I’m realizing that there is a really cool hint of rose as well. Clearly the oak is dominating the nose. This wine will dispel any myth of petite sirah wines being light and wimpy, this is a serious wine. Medium to full-bodied and moderately tannic on the finish. The wine has excellent mouth feel and a very very lengthy mid-palate transition that is full of dark berries and oak. It ends with an almost equally lengthy finish that is tannic and slightly disjointed. I would have expected a bit more polish due to pervasive oak smell, but it seems a bit rough and a bit too hot (14.5% alcohol!). Yeah, I think this is just a bit too over-oaked for me.