2006 Eaglepoint Ranch Mendocino County Petite Sirah

92 points Wine Enthusiast: "Fans of 'Pet' will exult at this wildly exuberant wine. Grown in a dramatic mountain vineyard high above the Central Mendocino plain, it's bone dry and gigantic in tannins, with massive flavors of black currants, red meat, charred meat bone and pepper. Will age for at least a decade." (07/09) Eaglepoint Ranch is a classic California vineyard. Bryan Brick and I have always enjoyed the wines from here, whether under the Eaglepoint Ranch label, or labels that buy fruit from the property; the quality will always show itself. Winemaker/grapegrower Casey Hartlip is a true North Coast icon. The 2006 Petite Sirah is classic Eaglepoint PS. Big, bright black fruit with meatiness and spice that builds out in the mid-palate. This wine is screaming for a big juicy steak. Drink now or put in in you cellar for a couple years. (Mike Jordan, K&L Wine Merchants) One of the best and most affordable bottlings of Petite Sirah I've seen in years. With its inky black pour brightening at the edges and the Schezuan spice, camphor, pure blueberry fruit and vanilla bean found in the nose, the wine is never shy about what it is trying to accomplish. Its big, forward, but surprisingly open-knit nature is quite uncommon for Petite Sirah, but it works magnificently. Flavors of roast meat, snappy raspberry and wild forest are ever present on the palate. Typically intense and tannic on the finish, leaving a lasting impression. Simply put this is Petite Sirah. (Bryan Brick, K&L)