What to Expect from Carver Sutro Petite Sirah in 2008

Being on the inside with the members of PS I Love You (as the founder and director since its inception in 2002), I get to work with amazing people. This includes Jeff Cohn of JC Cellars, as well as Denis Sutro of Carver Sutro, in this picture that I took of them this past February.

Little confessional here…

When PS I Love You had our Dark & Delicious event in San Francisco, and I was assigning table locations, I placed Carver Sutro at the end of a row, in the back of the reception area of the Palace of Fine Arts, and in a corner location. This was very strategic. I knew that Carver Sutro was going to be an event darling, and it didn’t matter where I’d put Denis and his wife Barbara, they were going to be much sought after. So, I needed to put them in good Fung shui, and all would be well.

When Denis and Barbara arrived, he mentioned that the lighting in that corner wasn’t the best. He was right. WE had been playing with it all afternoon, and it wasn’t quite right yet.

I ran to get the house lights turned up four notches. I didn’t want them to be unhappy in any way, shape, or form, because it would appear – at first – that they might have a challenging location. I trusted that it was a great spot, but they had no reason to trust me. It was their first event with us.

So, with lights up, and Carver Sutro shining brightly, the night was a smashing success… But, about three quarters before the event was over Denis – when I checked in with Denis and Barbara – Denis told me, “I’ve run out of wine! I don’t run out of wine at these events. If I do, I’m so embarrassed. I can’t believer how many people wanted our wine!”

Well, I wasn’t surprised, knowing my group and how consumers respond to the members’ wines. With a shining star like Carver Sutro, what’s not to PS I Love You? He promised, like Markham the year before, that he’d bring twice as much in the future… Success as I knew it would be. I just got Denis’ updated info on a new release. It’s so tempting and his images are so gorgeous, that I’ve asked if I could pass it along to you. Here you go!

What to Expect from Carver Sutro Petite Sirah in 2008

Consistency is the overriding characteristic of the 9 vintages we have produced from Palisades Vineyard. Blueberries and blackberries, violets and crushed black pepper, rich, round and sweet tannins, voluptuous mouth-feel, majestic purple color and a long, dreamy finish.

Latest off the Line: 2005 Vintage

This lovely wine is available now. Bottled in August of 2007, this wine came through one of the wettest growing seasons in memory. 25 inches of rain in the spring of that harvest year was almost 300% of normal, which led to happy dry-farmed vines in early Fall when the 15 foot deep roots were still finding moisture to help them ripen the fruit. Following are Robert Parker’s tasting notes of the 05 barrell sample: “From the northeastern corner of the Napa Valley, this Petite Sirah specialist turns out pedal-to-the-metal, powerful, intense wines from this underrated varietal. The 2005 Petite Sirah Palisades Vineyard possesses a blue/black color as well as scents of blueberries, black raspberries, camphor, graphite, and spring flowers. It reveals huge tannins, good acidity, and 25 years of aging potential.” Score: 91-93