Review: 2006 Seghesio Home Ranch Petite Sirah

**Apologies, as I was not able to find a picture of Seghesio's 2006 Home Ranch Petite Sirah. Under the Grape Tree blog has a picture up, but since ZinfanGirl is cautious of photo theft & copyright infringement & blah blah blah, she figured she'd just link to the blog (and their review of the same wine) instead.**

There are two wines that ZinfanGirl can almost always peg on site: white Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah. Looking at this wine sitting in my glass, I see this is a fairly leggy wine, dripping slowly down the edges as I swirl it. It smells warm, the way pumpkin pie smells warm-- don't get me wrong, I am not saying this wine smells like pumpkin pie (although that actually sounds kinda yummy...). Maybe it's clove or cinnamon. Let's give it a taste, shall we?

Wow, what a body on this wine! The mid-palate is where it's at! The warmth of the nose also continues down my throat, but not in an unpleasant burning way. Tannins in the finish are just enough to be noticed but without the moisture-sucking-ness of, say, a Cabernet Sauvignon.

There is definitely a dark/bramble fruit presence but it takes a back seat to the "warmy" essence. It's a toasted spice of some sort-- I bet this would make for an interesting mulled wine if it weren't so heavy. And at 15.5% alcohol, definitely proceed with caution. ZinfanGirl is continuously amazed at how just a 1% - 2% increase in alcohol/volume can affect her body & brain (like the time ZinFanHubby brought a bottle of Seghesio's Venom to France. After having spent months drinking 12% alcohol/volume French wines, one sip of this 16+% sangiovese knocked me on my ZinfanAss).

Although I think this wine *could* be matched up with food, its unique flavors and luscious body make it a fine stand-alone wine. Thumbs up, Seghesio.

Review: Seghesio Marian's Reserve 2007 Alexander Valley Red Table Wine

It's been awhile since ZinfanHubby & I have cracked into a Seghesio. We received a club shipment not too long ago and while entertaining guests the other night, decided to pull one out. Our options were either the Marian's Reserve or a Four Vines; having recently opened a Four Vines, Seghesio won out (clearly there was a lack of ZinfanLogic here, as we are going to Templeton this weekend and will surely stop at Four Vines). C'est la vie & stuff.

34% Zinfandel, 33% Petite Syrah (it shows!) and 33% Carignane, this wine packs a punch at a whopping 15.5% alcohol/volume. OK, math lesson over. Maybe ZinfanGirl has become overly sensitive to alcohol over the years, but the boozy-burning scent comes through almost as strongly as the jam of the Zin. As mentioned, the wine looks like a PS: practically purple & inky (in fact, having saved the bottle, I notice a small drip down the white label and it is blue. No exaggeration). Tannins throughout the taste, but they don't suck the moisture out of your mouth too much. The finish is clean and smooth, with a touch of fruit. Drinking this wine makes me want steak. I can't really ID any specific fruit, but the fruitiness is definitely there. This wine is nice: nothing memorable, but that works both ways, yeah?

Clearly ZinfanGirl has *some* fond memories of Seghesio...

Gettin' some ♥ZinfanLove♥ at Seghesio- July '07 (thanks to my ZinfanFriend Lindsey for the pic!)

Hunting the Black Chicken, Part II

Wow, I am ZinfanSlacking! But I am determined to punch out the rest of the Black Chicken adventure before ZinfanHubby & I head to Paso Robles this weekend.

So, where were we? Ah yes, leaving Regusci winery...

Next stop: Robert Biale vineyards! ZinfanHubby is responsible for introducing me to this treasure. They are appointment-only, and make extraordinary wines. It's worth a visit just to hear the Black Chicken story (which ZinfanGirl knows, but also knows she will never give it the story-telling justice it deserves).

The party was already underway when Noah & I arrived. The wine was flowin' freely and the food was nothing short of delightful!

After filling our bellies with some of the delicious grub, I showed Noah around Biale's grounds. First was the barrel room:

I suspect the barrels in the foreground were put up to keep Black Chicken Society members from wandering back there...

In addition to big steel tanks, Biale has several wooden barrels. French Oak (I'm assuming it's chêne-- oak) I'd heard of but Hungarian?? Need to look into that one!

Noah was especially striken by the barrels that were literally seeping with the goodness. We tried to guess what wine(s) were in which barrels, how long they had been in there, etc., but never confirmed our guesses. There's always next time!

Aldo & Clementina Biale are the reason the Black Chicken exists. Aldo is now in his 90s! They were graciously signing the souvenier glasses and were such delights to chat with. ZinfanGirl's autographed Biale glass is proudly displayed in her "really frickin' awesome, could never be replaced" collection of glasses (from Porto, Champagne, etc).

And of course, we had to get a picture of ZinfanGirl & Noah:

You can't really tell, but my shirt says, "Zinfandel" and has the Robert Biale logo on the bottom right side. Yes, I did decide to wear the shirt, and I rocked it proudly!!!

OK, enough with the pictures already. Let's talk some wine!!!

Biale was pouring all of their wines, and while Noah indulged himself, ZinfanGirl was on driving duty and hence had to keep her tastings under control (for wine anyway. The food is another story). The most memorable stand-outs:

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  Pollo Bianco: The Pollo Bianco (white chicken) is the only white wine produced by Biale. It is about as good as a Sauvignon Blanc can get. It is always released in limited quantities, so ZinfanHubby & I snag as many as we can. It tastes and looks like summer, and I definitely suggest grabbing some if the opportunity ever arises.
  
  
  

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  Black Chicken: The darling of Biale vineyards, this zinfandel has just enough jam to give it that yum-yum mouth & fruity flavor, yet can easily stand up to spice and BBQ. If I could only drink one wine for the rest of my life, it would probably be Black Chicken (or a Turley zin... nah, it would be Black Chicken).
  
  
  

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  Royal Punishers Petite Sirah: It seems unfair to ZinfanGirl that a winery as small as Biale can make a Petite Sirah just as well as they can make Zin. If you're in the mood for a dark, brooding wine, this is an excellent choice.
  
  
  

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  Stagecoach Zin: The Stagecoach grapes are grown at a higher elevation than Black Chicken. I suggest a side-by-side taste & compare to really note the subtle yet distinct differences in these two Zins.
  
  
  

• Party Line Zinfandel: Not to be confused with the Party Line Petite Sirah reviewed here. When ZinfanHubby & I visited Biale last May, there was talk that the new Party Line Zin may possibily be more delicious than the Black Chicken. Naturally, this was unacceptable-- nothing could be better than the Black Chicken, they exclaimed! While this wine is a delight, I think their fears were unfounded. Nothing tops Black Chicken!

Noah & I walked away with almost 2 cases of goodness, full bellies, and souvenier glasses (one autographed). ZinfanGirl is proud to have initiated another ZinfanFriend into the world of wine, and is looking forward to returning to Biale very soon!
And if you absolutely must know how Black Chicken got its name, please see http://www.robertbialevineyards.com/blackchicken.html

Squawk squawk!!!

-ZinfanGirl