🏷️ Lot Overview
Region: Calistoga District (Napa Valley)
Vintage: 2024
Blend: 98% Petite Sirah, 2% Cabernet Franc
ChatGPT Original Source Guess: Robert Biale Vineyards (alt: T-Vine Cellars)
Wine Berserkers Guess: Vermeil Frediani Petite Sirah
Alcohol: 15.0%
Oak Aging: ~35% new French oak (light & medium toast)
Cam Price: $20.75 ($249/case)
Retail Estimate: $75
Drink Window: Late 2025–2034
🍷 Cameron’s Release Notes
Email
Normally, I would be hesitant to put a ’24 Petite Sirah into the bottle so young, but the warmth of the 2024 vintage delivered this absolutely gorgeous Petite in bottle-ready shape. Vibrant, juicy, complex, and succulent, this inky monster will knock your socks off!
It did mine! Honestly, I paid as much for this wine as I have many a ’23 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon… I tried to hold out for a better price but winemaking loves PS as a blender so, well, we just had to have it. We are only bottling about 150 cases (exact blend we received) and I have priced this as low as I can go.
Hailing from a $75/bottle, single-vineyard designated Calistoga District program located in the eastern alluvials just north of the St. Helena border, this Petite Sirah is produced from 40–50 year old vines. It is aged in some really nice, 35% new mix of light and medium-toast French oak barrels that serve to anchor the lovely chocolate notes beautifully while lifting the fruit, delivering fantastic vibrancy and energy to a deep, delicious wine.
Tasting Notes
Squid ink in the glass, totally glass-staining opaque with an electric purple rim. Boisterous bouquet of boysenberry pie, blueberry syrup lifted with fresh raspberry purée and anchored with black forest cake—my god, you could practically eat the nose. Super compelling and fresh, especially when the marzipan and bergamot notes come out with a little air.
Remarkably supple on entry with a super-sexy, energetic structure delivering complex, precise raspberry fruit complexed with blueberry syrup and chocolate cake notes. Succulent and seamless across the palate with a lengthy, resounding finish, this beautiful Petite Sirah possesses tremendous verve and energy. Drinks surprisingly well now!
🧠 ChatGPT says:
🔍 Source Guess: Robert Biale Vineyards (Alt: T-Vine Cellars)
🎯 Rationale:
- Vineyard & Age Match: Both Biale and T-Vine source Petite Sirah from Calistoga’s eastern alluvials, including old vine parcels dating back 40–50 years.
- Style & Oak Program: The lifted fruit, chocolate notes, and partial new French oak align with Biale’s style (though T-Vine also makes plush, fruit-forward Petite with similar oak tones).
- Market Position: $75/bottle, single-vineyard Petite Sirah is right in Biale’s and T-Vine’s wheelhouse, though Biale has the stronger prestige connection and longer track record for high-end Napa Petite.
- Early Bottling Feasibility: Warm 2024 vintage + softer tannin profile from old vines could justify bottling early for a “ready now” release, which is unusual but not impossible for PS.
⏳ Drink Window
- Early Enjoyment: Late 2025 (remarkably supple for PS)
- Peak Drinking: 2027–2032 (when fruit and oak knit beautifully)
- Hold Potential: Through 2034 (PS is built to last but this has fresher tannins than usual)
⏳ Drink Window: 2025–2034 (peak 2027–2032)
🧑🤝🧑🍷 Wine Berserkers Guess: Vermeil Frediani Petite Sirah (guessing 2% CF)