Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery Petite Sirah Proprietor's Reserve

Bought at K&L some years ago for, I think, $15. Still very much alive if not terribly complex or interesting - better the second night. On this bottle the cork came out cleanly and I didn't find any bottle funk or vinegar notes as others reported. Color: inky black with purple rim Nose: somewhat shy. Wood, earth, violets and subtle herbs. Palate: clean, nicely balanced with fruit and soft tannins but without a lot of length or interest. Still, a …

On it's way out... sad to say. This has just hints of the fruit buried under leather with hints of what will soon be vinegar. This bottle showed no signs of leakage or seepage but the cork cracked when trying to extract with an Ah-So. However, that blew off, revealing the fruit underneath. Still oodles of structure -- a tight, modern, leather couch of a PS painted with cranberries and not-quite-ripe raspberries. Still advise drinking this soon, but if the …

Good acidity. Tart, red/dark fruit. Still holding on and pleasant to drink, but not a lot of interest.

What a surprise for $15. Clean label and foil, high shoulder fill. Cork was dry and crumbly but not soaked through. Some funkiness and chemical aromas had to blow off but after an hour or two of Audouze-style oxygenation (no decanting), this was rather delicious. Soft and mature with complex flavors of cherries, leather, a hint of iron, something herbal I can't identify. Finish is respectable. Really an interesting mouthful. Perhaps I got lucky, but I went back and grabbed …