Peterson Winery
2010 Dry Creek Valley Shinbone Red Blend
Red Blend
California: Dry Creek Valley
Mission Briefing
Revenge of the Burly Brawler
What a coup, dear Operative! Today we are very pleased to bring you another delightful vintage of what has become of of our all-time favorite red blends - from one of our very favorite small-production wineries.
Today’s 2010 Peterson Family Winery Shinbone is a juicy, delicious, complex red blend that brought smiles to the faces of all on our tasting panel. We were unanimous in our love for this delightful wine and we offer our fullest recommendation. Bold, dark fruits cascade across the front of the palate, delivering flavors that spread to the far corners of the mouth.
Because we only showcase wines that we love - and because we have been rejecting more and more of our wines - we know that choosing from among our offerings can be a difficult thing to do. We simply recommend that you read our tasting profiles with care, to see if a wine really speaks to you. If you love red blends, well, this review may just be shouting.
This wine embodies the best qualities of Shiraz, with the elegant backbone of a classic Cabernet. In short, there is something for everyone in this wonderful, delicious red blend.
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Very pretty and very dark with luminescent maroon hues through a slightly darker core. |
|---|---|
| Smell: | Dusty and lush with a bold rush of blackberry, black cherry and cassis. As the wine breathers, it revelas follow-on aromas of saddle leather, subtle tobacco and dark dried violet petals. |
| Taste: | Dark plum, black cherry, blackberry and cherry juice rush across the palate. As the wine opens, flavors of dark leather, dried rose petals, oregano, and dark dried tree bark follow on. |
| Finish: | Dark and long-lingering with juicy dark fruit that slowly yields to a velvety, cedar-wrapped nuttiness that adds complexity and intrigue at the tail end. |
| Pairing: | Enjoy this dark and juicy wine with duck breast on the BBW, with a cherry reduction sauce. An assortment of exotic grilled cheese sandwiches would also be quite excellent. |
What the Winery Says
Our Shiraz/Cab blend fits into the “burly not girly” wine category, and is our way of paying homage to our brethren down-under who produce some equally wonderful blends. When we first made the Syrah from the Olson Vineyard in Dry Creek Valley, the wine reminded us of the more opulent, fruit-forward Australian style. I started calling the wine in barrels Shiraz to differentiate from our Bradford Mountain Syrah. Later, when tasting through the lots, we thought, “What would complement and give a little more backbone to the base wine?” Both my father (Fred) and I had spent time with winemakers from Australia, and had tried some of the wonderful things they could accomplish by combining soft Shiraz with structured Cabernet Sauvignon, thus providing the inspiration for this “new classic” blend. The resulting wine follows the BBQ friendly Shinbone style, with added complexity not always found in the wines from Down Under.
Dark intense aromatics of plum, espresso, tobacco and a hint of herbs de Provence wrap around layers of smoky oak. Well balanced with a velvety roughness, the ’10 Shinbone flavors echo the qualities found in the nose, and more. Ripe dark cherry mingles with hints of cedar, eucalyptus and an interesting mineral essence. Toasty oak remains in the background until the finish where it lingers on with just a touch of anise. This mysterious beauty pairs perfectly with slow-smoked brisket or your favorite moussaka recipe.
- Winemaker
- Jamie Peterson
- Appellation
- Dry Creek Valley
- Varietal / Vineyard Breakdown
- 60% Shiraz - Olson Vineyard, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon - Bradford Mountain Estate
- Cooperage
- 21 months in American and Hungarian oak
- Production Notes
- 440 Cases
- ABV
- 13.9%
About the Winery
Peterson Winery is located on Dry Creek Road just north of Healdsburg, in the famous Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County, California. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the geography of Northern California, Healdsburg and the Dry Creek Valley are about 75 miles north of San Francisco, and 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean coastline.
Peterson Winery grew out of the vineyards that now supply it with grapes. That may seem unusual, but our background is not just in winemaking, but also in grape growing, or viticulture. For us, making great wine is about the grapes – where and how they were grown, what the weather conditions were, and how the vineyards were managed during the growing season.