Um, Hi Folks. I feel like a bit of an imposter here; but I promised my dear bugguy that I would post his tasting notes in his absence and distant proximity to a computer.

Foppiano Vineyards. Sonoma Co.
Petite Syrah 1999, $13

Appearance: intense, very cool red, almost maroon, somewhat cloudy, bits of sediment (tartic acid crystals?)

Smell: "dusty," earthy, blackberries or currants, a little bit rubbery

Taste: assertive, spicey cloves(?), currants, minerals, fairly tart, sharp, trying tannins (= a little too young?)

Question marks are his. Hope I got this all right. His writing is a little hard to read! Also, I think he edited out all of my comments -- and now I can't really remember what they were!

Cheers!

Hey, any gal of bugguy is a gol of ours. Welcome to Funville, buggal. Hope you'll be back often.

Sometimes, not being able to remember the comments you made on a wine is a comment in itself.

Hello Buggal,

Welcome to the WS board. The Bugguy told me that you and he might be coming into Chicago in a month or so to visit some of your family. Perhaps I'll see you if everyone's schedule is not too hectic.

VM

We decanted this wine for two-plus hours.
Deep purple/garnet color, with multiple thick legs.
Got next to nothing from a muted nose. Very dry mouthfeel, not to be unexpected from PS. Highly tannic. Believe the wine might evolve into something nice in a year or too.
Queen thought she was sniffing cognac. Her tongue turned deep purple.
Found only slight hints of fruit (blueberry perhaps), some dirt, prune and a little spice. Finish is short.
All in all a disappointment. Obviously I can't pick my nose.
Wish I had tasted the 98.
Pinot Envy hope you do better by the TAA tasters than I did.

Well, I just had to come back and see if anyone noticed "bugguy's" posting. He speaks affectionately of y'all.

I can't remember my own comments on the said bottling because we had another bottle of wine a day or two later which I thought was fantastic. Now, you're going to think I'm awful because I don't retain these names and details terribly well; but I believe it was something like Sausal zinfandel. Bugguy may fill you in when he gets back.

Yes, we are coming to Chicago in mid-June -- two days after he returns from Nicaragua! I imagine he will contact you (Vino Me) for your phone number before we leave. We'll be a little busy with family, but wine-related things are VERY high on bugguy's priority list.



[ 06-15-2002, 11:28 AM: Message edited by: buggal ]

Buggal- Sounds good. Hope we can hook up.

King- All in all I think you had quite a successful TAA. A nice turnout. Notes from across the country and even Canada for the 1st time and I'm sure a few more notes will straggle in. Of course you can't guarantee the quality of a wine which you have not tried and has never been rated. However, I'm glad you picked the wine you did. It was my 1st PS and if you had not picked it I may have never tried one. Thanks.

VM

KOH
Don't be too hard on yourself. I think there were a number of us who enjoyed this wine just fine...the TAA is about more than tasting a "blockbuster". I was surprised the wine didn't open up a little more for you though. I too, thought it was very closed initially but got better after about an hour and was much better the next day. Still just in the 80s though. Thanks for your time in picking it. My first PS, so no complaints about your choice here.

king-whichever way the notes go, i think this is an excellent experiment to see how our consensus matches the wine spectator's ratings when they are released. maybe keith can get us a monthly byline in coming issues.

KOH, great job with the TAA. I rated it 86 pts. and in my mind that's a very good wine.

jb

Thanks for the support friends and WS neighbors. I'm happy you folks got to experiment. I recommend Fife PS or Stag's Leap PS or Philip Staley PS for those who would like to taste a better expression of this varietal. It can be compelling.
As for the Foppiano flop, well, I'm over it. It's a Virgo thing.

FLOP????? You are being way too hard on yourself, King. By my calculations, the average score for this wine was an 85.9, and that's conservative as I used the lower number when people gave a range. Not great, but certainly not a flop. All in all, about as well as can be expected given the limitations on the TAA (i.e. no major reviews, no discussions on this board, widely distributed, under $20). It sure is in the same neighborhood as the other TAA wines, and it seems like there were more participants this time, so maybe the availability was a little better. Besides that, you introduced a varietal many people had never tried before. I would say you did a fine job.

As far as other petites people might want to experiemnt with, I recommend the 99 Rutherford Grove (approx $30). This one needs a few years (or several hours in a decanter), but it is a huge wine and a very good example of what can be done with this grape.

For higher end Petit Sirah, try Thackerey Orion (he syas it is Syrah - UC Davis says it is Petit), Turley Hayne, Turley Estate, Turley Aida (no longer currently produced), Behrens and Hitchcock, and Jacob Franklin.

KOH

Thanks for a job well done.

As redX3 said, this exercise (TAA) was fun, even if the wine was so-so at best.

I look forward to getting in on the next TAA that the wine of choice can be found up here.

Your Grace--

As a fellow obsessive compulsive Virgo, let me add that I too very much enjoyed this month's TAA. Like many, this was my first tasting of a PS. While I think I might have been the high rater here at 90, I don't recall any rating lower than 83 or so. The TNs were all very similar in terms of aromas, flavors, and colors. I think we learned that we are a reasonably knowledgable and consistent group, and we got to drink a nice wine in the process. If it would make you feel better, next time you are in charge of a TAA, you have my permission to pick a Chambertin or a Les Clos!!!!

Greetings King and the "Court"

I've been checking these posts lately for insight and decided to play along with the TAA to get my feet wet.

First tried a Bogle PS, liked it and wanted to try something else in a Petit. Really enjoyed the 1997 Foppiano PS at a dinner party some time ago. We served it with grilled chicken and spinach lasagna. Went out and bought a few more bottles afterward. Haven't tried the only bottle of 98 I have, but found the 99 for $13 a few weeks back and figured this was a good excuse to jump into the fray.

Grilled a pork tenderloin with a red wine and dried cherry sauce with a touch of NV mustard Sat. nite and quaffed the Fopp. Cloudy purple in color and not a real fragrant nose. Failed to discern any cherry notes but black and blue berries, along with coffee, pepper, spice(?)and chocolate notes. The wine had a thick texture and opened up nicely over the course of the evening. Tongue was black and coated by the tannic power of this youthful wine. Needs some time in the bottle to soften. Elegant it is not, and likely never will be. MP Rating 85-87. Nice QPR at $13. Glad I have two more to sit on for a couple years.

Good choice KoH. Variety is the spice of life!

Was at a Safeway this afternoon and FINALLY found this staring me strait in the eye. I must admit I had read most of this thread before I tasted and had a slightly negative bias going in. I also drank two fabulous wines last night so I was about as influenced as I could have possibly been, better late than never.

'99 Foppiano PS, $14.99, drank from Speigalou Grand Palais stems, with an appetizer of smoked gouda and a main course of butterfly cut, marinated, elk medallions and white corn.
Opaque, nice firm nose of cedary oak, tar, black pepper, and blackberry. Leggy and sedimented. Blackberry jam on the tongue, a little minty eucalyptus and heat detracts. Full bodied with a decent 15+ second finish that shows a nice tannic structure that I find not out of line (I like tannic wines). Nice future? Possibly. Has no problem pairing with the elk, bravo! 88 points. Great QPR in my book. Thanks KOH I enjoyed

Elk. Now there's a good PS pairing.

Merlin,
And welcome to this red-stained world. Think you'll enjoy the byplay, banter and (very friendly) bickering.

I ended up having to have this wine the weekend before the TAA. I decanted for about an hour. I did notice quite a bit of forward fruit, strawberries, red raspberry, red currant, and generous spice though short lived. Mouthfeel was quite acidic and very dry. Overall not a bad bottle and might consider another 1 or 2 for future consumption (1-2 years). I paid nearly $20 with tax, so it is not high up on my list of under $20 wines to buy. Score 85

MP,

Welcome to the WS boards and thanks for contributing. I just finalized plans to be in your town on June 22nd to visit my brother.

VM

99 Foppiano Petite Sirah $17.99

OK, here goes my first tasing note

Decanted for 1 hour

Dark ruby red color. Earth, currents, and alcohol on the nose. Got some acidity at first, but went away the longer it sat. Mostly dark fruit flavors (which i love). Overall i enjoyed this wine. Would score it an 87.

i've been reading the postings here & realized i neglected to give this wine a score when i posted my tasting note. i apologize for this oversight & i give it a 90. i think it is important to post my score since i was one of the people most pleased with this wine.

i wonder if there is much bottle variation with this (or other wines, for that matter), or do our palates vary this much. i know pinot envy said she had strep throat (my sympathy & i hope you are feeling better). i had been fighting severe allergies & had been taking allegra for several days. i know this makes my mouth dryer & this must have an effect.

king, this was an enjoyable experience.

gus

I can't post a tasting note as I don't have a 99 Foppiano (though I do have a 97 in the basement still). I like their 97 quite a bit, though it isn't at the top of my Petite list.

I am a committed Petiteophile, with some 40 different bottlings in the basement and some 50 or so already consumed. There is a reachable number of distinct bottlings on the planet, and I'm determined to work through them.

I've noticed that reactions to Petite Sirah vary widely, and there is considerable variety in the approaches taken by winemakers. I find Foppiano, like David Bruce and a handful of others, to be a Petite which is softer and more red-fruited than many others. My personal preference is for young, brutish, rough Petites with dark blue/blackberry fruit, some acid zip, and humongous walls of tannins that battle vigorously with the fruit for domination of my mouth. For me the fruit/tannin clash in a big Petite is an unmatched gustatory thrill.

Good to see so many people enjoying their first Petite. Keep trying others - I find them very rewarding. Thanks for the great notes.

1999 Foppiano Petite Sirah
Well, I realize I’m a week late to the party, but I finally tried this Saturday night with grilled lamb chops rubbed with a garlic, mint, salt and pepper paste. Drank from vinum bordeaux stems after 45 minutes of decanting.
Deep, opaque purple nose with an initial grapey blast that settled down revealing dark fruit and cola. Jammy and monolithic in the mouth, it was medium- to full-bodied with a acidic streak and a moderately long, quite tannic finish. I don’t see it evolving much, but I liked it and thought it was a good value. 88 points.

Updating this in anticipation of the August TAA this weekend.

VM