Vigilance Petite Sirah 2011

Petite Sirah (aka: Durif) was one of the first red varietals I really and truly enjoyed. Michael David’s Petite Petit was probably the first wine that opened my eyes to Petite Sirah (and yes, I bought it because I thought the label was utterly adorable). It was definitely one of the better wines tucked away in the rather pathetic excuse for a wine room at the liquor store where I was working at the time. I wish I could say that after that I fell head over heels for the complexity, uniqueness and blah blah blah that this wine displayed, but sadly no (it would’ve been such a good excuse for what followed). I definitely enjoyed the majority of wines I had from that varietal afterwards, but my overall obsession with it didn’t start until after an adorable toy Australian Shepherd came into my life.

I’d originally wanted to name her Rogue after my favorite X-Men character, but Sarah Palin’s book (‘Going Rogue’) had just come out so after hastily scrambling to come up with a new name, I settled on Petite Sirah. At the time I had no idea that she was a toy so it wasn’t until later that I realized how fitting a name it was. She is the world to me and despite sometimes feeling like a pretentious (but clever!) bastard whenever I have to explain or pronounce her name for people, I still love it. I have a Petite Sirah who is literally petite… it is ridiculous how happy that makes me.

Vigilance is from the Red Hills AVA located at the base of Mount Konocti in California. It is 100% Petite Sirah with a vibrant ruby color and aromas of blackberry, vanilla and cedar. Medium-bodied and smooth on the palate with fruit flavors of dark cherry, blueberry and plum nicely balanced with notes of vanilla, clove and white pepper. Finishes with some slightly earthy notes and low tannins, definitely had more finesse than I’ve come to expect from California Petite Sirah.

PS is a grape that I enjoy rather immensely and love introducing to people for the first time. Vigilance is one of the more unique wines I've had of this varietal and it’s one I highly recommend. It is available at Whole Foods Market Vineyard in San Antonio.