2007 Retro Cellars Howell Mountain Petite Sirah

SKU #1088845 93 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2007 Petite Sirah benefits from the more opulent year to bake out some of the more rustic qualities present in the 2006. The wine bursts from the glass with blackberries, blueberries, leather and spices, all of which flesh out beautifully in the glass. The 2007 is a deep, powerful wine bursting with dark, fragrant fruit. It shows fabulous intensity and finesse all the way to the deep, resonant finish. Today the wine is not fully expressive, but it seems to have a very bright future. This is a fabulous showing from Retro Cellars. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. Mike and Kara Dunn make these wines from Randy Dunn’s Park Muscatine vineyard on Howell Mountain. I was especially impressed with the 2007, a vintage in which many of the wilder tendencies of Petite Sirah are handled expertly. It will be interesting to see where this project goes from here. The Dunns give their Petite Sirah 30 months in French oak, which the wine definitely seems to need. (12/ 2011)

92 points Wine Enthusiast

Another fine, lush and ageable Petite Sirah from Retro. You can drink it now because it’s so sweet and accessible in cherry pie filling, roasted meat and smoky oak flavors. But with a firm tannin structure, it will gain all kinds of bottle complexities over the next eight years. (12/ 2011)

90 points Wine Spectator

Nicely done, with aromatic details of smoke and violets and plenty of peppery highlights to the wild black berry, mineral and plum flavors. Plenty of vibrancy to the fruit flavors, and a rustic, chewy, tannic profile. Drink now through 2020. 270 cases made. (2/ 2012)