One of the fun aspects about shopping for wine in Napa Valley is that, in many cases, you can preview what you are about to buy just by swinging by the winery where the wine was bottled. Back in November of 2007, a half-bottle of 2005 Elyse Petite Sirah caught my eye in a grocery store. Lacking any experience at the time with this varietal, I wanted to know what I was getting into and how many bottles I should consider getting. The market was in Yountville, and Elyse winery was just on the other side of Highway 29, so I made a quick run to Elyse. I was able to preview the wine, get an understanding of its tannins, fruit, structure, and overall quality, and I decided to get a couple of half-bottles. The winery was sold out in that format, so I had to run back to the grocery store to acquire the wine.
My notes from the initial tasting suggested holding onto the wine until 2012. By April 2011, my curiosity had piqued and I decided to open the first bottle. While the wine was nice then, featuring good balance, chocolate notes and great fruits, it still was not quite ready. Tonight I relented and opened the last bottle and was pleasantly rewarded for having waited. After 90 minutes of breathing, this wine was smooth, balanced, and very nicely flavored with leather, black raspberry, blackberry, mineral, and unsweetened chocolate. As a side note, I found all of the wines from Elyse to be well balanced, nicely styled, and quite delicious – well worth a visit.
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