2013 Switchback Ridge
Petite Sirah, Napa Valley
Peterson Family Vineyard
Wine Profile
- Composition: 100% Petite Sirah (28% Old Vine Block)
- Harvest Dates: September 18 & 24
- Alcohol: 16.2%
- Length & Type of Aging: Mostly Neutral Oak Barrels
- Bottling Date: May 7, 2015
- Number of Cases Produced: 728
- Library Release Price: $65.00
Welcome to the blackberry patch! Enticing aromas of blackberry pie lead to a viscous and mouth coating palate. Perfectly integrated natural acidity is framed by abundant tannins that are chewy and coating but not angular, giving way to an incredible, long-lasting finish. -
Bob Foley, Winemaker
Thick and rich, this offers a plush, velvety mouthful of dark chocolate, blueberry pie, Earl Grey tea and toasted walnut bread, with a touch of caraway mingling with spicy cigar box accents on the long, detailed finish. Drink now through 2026. –
M.W., Wine Spectator, December 15, 2016 92 points
2012 Switchback Ridge
Petite Sirah, Napa Valley
Peterson Family Vineyard
Wine Profile
- Composition: 100% Petite Sirah (22% Old Vine Block)
- Harvest Dates: October 13 & 19
- Alcohol: 16.5%
- Length & Type of Aging: Mostly Neutral Oak Barrels
- Bottling Date: May 8, 2014
- Number of Cases Produced: 623
- Release Price: $60.00
A massive wine with incredible concentration and depth of flavor. Wild berry fruits are intermixed with blueberry liqueur and a hint of charred meat and espresso. Rich and opulent on the palate supported by dense tannin structure and bright, natural acidity. -
Bob Foley, Winemaker
The fabulous, opaque purple-colored 2012 Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard boasts beautiful blueberry, blackberry and black currant fruit notes intertwined with notions of camphor, spring flowers, spice and oak. Full bodied, opulent, fleshy and super-concentrated, with a skyscraper-like mid-palate and finish, this sensational red can be drunk now, because of its approachability, and over the next 20-25 years. – Robert Parker, eRobertParker.com #215, October 2014, Rating 94 points
2011 Switchback Ridge
Petite Sirah, Napa Valley
Peterson Family Vineyard
Wine Profile
- Composition: 100% Petite Sirah
- Harvest Dates: October 1 & 12
- Alcohol: 15%
- Length & Type of Aging: Mostly Neutral Oak Barrels
- Bottling Date: May 2, 2013
- Number of Cases Produced: 448
- Release Price: $58.00
Intense boysenberry and black fruit extract with mouth-filling viscosity and vibrant natural acidity. This massive beauty still retains expressive grace with a long, complex finish. -
Bob Foley, Winemaker
Offers a powerful core of blackberry and wild blueberry flavors, with plush, velvety tannins and black licorice, dark chocolate, Earl Grey tea, nutmeg, fresh rosemary and sage details. The finish goes on and on. Drink now through 2025. –
M.W., Wine Spectator (Tasting Highlights, August 25, 2014) 93 points
2010 Switchback Ridge
Petite Sirah, Napa Valley
Peterson Family Vineyard
Wine Profile
- Composition: 100% Petite Sirah
- Harvest Dates: October 18 & 20
- Alcohol: 16.1%
- Length & Type of Aging: Mostly Neutral Oak Barrels
- Bottling Date: May 4, 2012
- Number of Cases Produced: 434
- Release Price: $58.00
Glass staining material, inky dark in color with ripe berry pie and briar aromas. The mid palate is very mouth-coating and the wine resolves with surprisingly gentle, soft tannins in the finish. -
Bob Foley, Winemaker
Wonderfully expressive, with a ripe and juicy mix of blackberry, huckleberry and blueberry flavors, a mouthful of rustic tannins and notes of spice, black tea and cigar box. Balanced and dense, with tannins that firm up on the finish. Drink now through 2024. –
M.W., Wine Spectator (Jan. 15, 2014 Insider) 94 points
2009 Switchback Ridge
Petite Sirah, Napa Valley
Peterson Family Vineyard
Wine Profile
- Composition: 100% Petite Sirah
- Harvest Date: September 30
- Alcohol: 16.5%
- Length & Type of Aging: Mostly Neutral Oak Barrels
- Bottling Date: May 26, 2011
- Number of Cases Produced: 460
- Release Price: $56.00
A blueberry and boysenberry pie! So ripe and jammy you could spread it on an English muffin! A huge wine with intensely concentrated fruit that is framed by abundant tannins that are gripping, yet surprisingly soft and silky. There is nothing angular about this wine. A sweet, rich mid palate coats your palate and leads to a long, lasting finish. -
Bob Foley, Winemaker
2008 Switchback Ridge
Petite Sirah, Napa Valley
Peterson Family Vineyard
Wine Profile
- Composition: 100% Petite Sirah
- Harvest Dates: September 14 & 17
- Alcohol: 16.5%
- Length & Type of Aging: Mostly Neutral Oak Barrels
- Bottling Date: June 11, 2010
- Number of Cases Produced: 412
- Release Price: $56.00
Super ripe, porty and vinous with rich blackberry and blueberry fruit extract, framed by gripping tannins and a healthy acid balance. -
Bob Foley, Winemaker
Readers looking for a massive, black, foreboding wine (which you might consider scary if you are against highly extracted, super-rich wines) should check out the 2008 Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard. It exhibits a black/purple color and smells like blood from a vine with notes of graphite, camphor, blackberry and blueberry liqueur. Viscous and thick with over the top richness and wonderfully sweet tannins, this is an extraordinary, profound Petite Sirah to drink over the next 25 years
. – Wine Advocate #192, Dec. 2010, Robert Parker; Rating 95+
2007 Switchback Ridge
Petite Sirah, Napa Valley
Peterson Family Vineyard
Wine Profile
- Composition: 100% Petite Sirah
- Harvest Dates: September 11 & October 11
- Alcohol: 16.8%
- Length & Type of Aging: Mostly Neutral Oak Barrels
- Bottling Date: June 11, 2009
- Number of Cases Produced: 541
- Release Price: $56.00
Ripe berry pie with just a hint of gaminess and spice. A massive wine with intense fruit and chewy tannins. -
Bob Foley, Winemaker
The monster 2007 Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard is a massively concentrated, huge, tannic wine that needs a good 7-8 years of cellaring and should keep 20 years. It will be another legend for Petite Sirah, but unless you are a patient connoisseur, few people will ever get to see it at its best.
– Wine Advocate #186, Dec. 2009, Robert Parker; Rating 95+ Drink 2016-2036
2006 Switchback Ridge
Petite Sirah, Napa Valley
Peterson Family Vineyard
Wine Profile
- Composition: 100% Petite Sirah
- Harvest Dates: October 3 & 18
- Alcohol: 16.4%
- Length & Type of Aging: Mostly Neutral Oak Barrels
- Bottling Date: June 12, 2008
- Number of Cases Produced: 594
- Release Price: $56.00
Pie in your face! Wild berry jam with chewy tannins and a hint of spice and meaty notes. -
Bob Foley, Winemaker
The blockbuster 2006 Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard boast an inky/blu/purple color as well as copious quantities of blueberry jam intermixed with truffles, incense, and a hint of charred meat. This full- bodied, powerful, rich, unevolved, backward Petite Sirah should be forgotten for 4-5 years, and drunk over the following two decades.
- Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #180 (Dec. 2008) 91+ points; Drink 2008-2023
2005 Switchback Ridge
Petite Sirah, Napa Valley
Peterson Family Vineyard
Wine Profile
- Composition: 100% Petite Sirah
- Alcohol: 16.4%
- Length & Type of Aging: Mostly Neutral Oak Barrels
- Bottling Date: June 2007
- Number of Cases Produced: 556
- Release Price: $54.00
Not surprisingly, Switchback Ridge has made a bevy of amazing Petite Sirahs, and the 2005 Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard possesses off the charts richness as well as a full-bodied style offering notes of espresso, ground pepper, blackberries, camphor, and incense. It is an exotic, full-bodied, enormously concentrated wine to drink over the next two decades.
- Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #174 (Dec. 2007) 95+ points
