Sean Thackrey SIRIUS Petite Sirah Marin County California

Sean Thackrey’s has a slightly ramshackle winery in cool Bolinas, just north of San Francisco. Something of an independently minded intellectual, he makes wines to please himself and hence the unconventional range of wines. Pleiades is made each vintage and the roman numerals reflect which version rather than year he produced the wine. The XV is a blend based around Grenache, Syrah and Zinfandel which is a little different every year and could be considered a kind of chef special while it is a wine that’s designed for drinking now. A purplish-ruby coloured wine showing a nose dominated by cloves and spice. The fruit driven palate is showing strawberry and cherry fruit character that gives way to an enjoyably long complex spicy finish. Limited Availability. (12 x 75 cl)

Sean Thackrey’s has a slightly ramshackle winery in cool Bolinas, just north of San Francisco. Something of an independently minded intellectual, he makes wines to please himself and hence the unconventional range of wines. Orion is made entirely from Syrah, produced from old vines in the Andrew Rossi Vineyard in St Helena. It’s a gorgeous, rich, highly extracted wine with pepper and cherries as well as a background of earth and smoke. Intense and vibrant with plum, raspberry and toasty oak this is a well made wine with a revealing finish. Limited Availability. (12 x 75 cl)

Jewel Petite Sirah California from USA, California, Lodi by Jewel Winery (12 x 75 cl)

First produced in 1978 by the Bogle family, this 2002 vintage shows just how far the winery has come. Amazingly inky, deep purple wine emerges from the bottle as you pour a glass. On the nose, luscious boysenberry scents mingle with traces of cedar and black pepper. Trademark jammy notes fill the mouth with ripe fruit and berries. The voluptuous finish lingers with toasty, vanilla oak and lush fruit. The firm tannins make this a wine that can develop for years to come, but you wont want to wait that long to enjoy it! Try this unique wine with rich meat dishes of lamb, pork or game and their hearty sauces. (6 x 75 cl)

Bogle PHANTOM Petite Sirah Zinfandel Mourvedre Delta Region California from USA, California by Bogle Winery (6 x 75 cl)

TASTING NOTES Very pretty aromas of jasmine and rose petal come quickly back to more expected tropical fruits like pineapple, mango and a bit of pear. Roasted hazelnut is joined with nougat and almond butter, finishing with a touch of lime and lichee. The wine is medium weight, clean with a wonderful acid backbone with a lingering, memorable finish with hints of minerality and a touch of strawberry. (12 x 75 cl)

Rich, deep purple, full-flavored dry red wine with aromas of brambly blackberry and dried cherry. (12 x 75 cl)

Big and bold, with plenty of heart. Dark, peppery with intense flavor, and a little rough around the edges. (12 x 75 cl)

There is nothing petite about Petite Sirah. It has traditionally been used in blends to make red wines bigger and more assertive. The Clay Station Petite Sirah was fermented warm and handled gently throughout the winemaking process, maximizing color and flavor extraction. 93% was barrel aged 12 months in both new and older American and French oak. The remainder was cellared in stainless steel to better preserve the fresh blueberry fruit character typical of the variety. This is a big, full bodied and peppery red wine with lots of blueberry character and flavor mingling with notes of ripe blackberry, dark chocolate and hints of toast and vanilla. It is a robust wine perfect for barbeque, chicken cacciatore or spinach ravioli in a meaty red tomato sauce. (12 x 75 cl)