Palisades Canyon Petite Sirah

SF Wine Tasting Meetup - Jan 2026 (San Francisco) : Somewhat painty on the palate. Dark plum, cinnamon, pepper, clove, cocoa, and dark cherry notes. Enjoyable, even at this young age. Drinks well on its own. 90 points.

2021 vintage

4th Saturday Group: Robust Winter Reds (J&L’s) : Blind. Deep color. Primary and grapey- smells like a barrel sample. Fine tannins with an abundance of wonderful black fruit on the palate. Balanced; seamless across the palate with a long finish. Guessed petite but did not pick it out as our Palisades Canyon. This had been double decanted nine hours before service.

2021 vintage

Palisades Canyon: An Unforgettable Mountain Tasting Experience (Calistoga, CA) : First visit to Palisades Canyon mountaintop tasting location in Calistoga with Steve Rasmussen. The Petite Sirah comes from 60-year-old head-trained, dry-farmed vines planted by Frank Barberis between 1964-1975 and grafted onto St. George rootstock. These vines benefit from 8x8 foot spacing that allows roots to access four times the soil volume of trellised vines, reaching deep into the water table for concentrated flavors without irrigation. Graeme MacDonald's approach differs dramatically …

2021 vintage

Old friends in Napa and Sonoma with my sis; 9/22/2025-9/23/2025 (Napa and Sonoma) : From a tasting at the winery with Steve. My third time with this, having visited and tasted this a year ago then earlier this year. Of all the relatively major CA varietals, I probably have the least experience with this, mostly having it blended with zin and sometimes syrah or other Rhone varietals. Dark berries, dark florals, dark soil, gravel, and lots of earthy minerality. I …

2021 vintage

Double decanted ~4 hours Smell: Syrah funk, pepper, iron/graphite, blackberry, boysenberry, and fruit dominating right now Taste: Blackberry, alcohol, minerals, graphite, spice, earthy funk Overall: this wine needs air and time. Day 1, the tannins were super grippy and almost overbearing. The iron/alcohol taste was dominating the palette. On day 2, the wine was much better, had softened and tasted much more resolved. The fruit/spice/iron taste were much more integrated. Day 1 - the score was around 89-90 Day 2 …

2021 vintage

Double-decanted for 12 hours per the winery’s recommendation. This wine defies my expectations for California Petite Sirah with its freshness and finesse. The nose presents complex layers of lavender, warm baking spices, dry earth, graphite, and creamy blue/blackberries. On the palate, black plum and dark cherry coat the palate. Despite the concentration of the fruit, the wine remains light on its feet, with a mid-palate lift from bright acidity and a mineral core. The dark fruited finish glides over firm, …

2021 vintage

Orange peel and lavender on the nose, with macerated black and cool blue berries. Dried, snapped twigs and wet mulch. A bit of chocolate with some air. With a lot of air, aromas become lifted and it’s fresh and clean, with fruits turning bright purple. Dry (unripe) black fruits on the palate, with a ton of fine and grippy tannin, graphite and bitter tree bark on the finish. With air, lots of floral notes come through in waves, very welcomed. …

2021 vintage

CT PHILLY -AN EVENING WITH PALISADES CANYON this months gathering of the Philly group of cellar trackers include Steve and Scott from Palisades Canyon. This is a relatively new venture, with 2021 representing the estates first estate bottled wines. Steve and his wife hail from the Philly area, so we were fortunate when he reached out that he would be in town and wanted to get togethr with our group. I believe everyone in our group has purchased from them, …

2021 vintage

Splash double decanted 1 hr prior to serving and it opened up in about 1-2 hrs or so. Very dense inky black-purple color. I think I will try a longer double decant next time, which benefits most Macdonald wines. 👃🏻 bramble, heavy leather, earth 👅 leather, blackberry, a little plum, hint of orange peel with 30-35 sec finish Definitely a more restrained style than other petite sirah’s I have had with more acidity and a nice balance throughout. I suspect …

2021 vintage

Temporary Living and not the best drinking; 1/30/2025-6/15/2025 : 1st glass after 10 min open and last glass after 24 hours. Best in the first few hours despite the astringency. Big bold blackberry fruit, some hints if gaminess in the nose but otherwise just big purple fruit. Seems more simple than I expected from the rave reviews but very pleasant on day 1. Sealed in a glass container and refrigerated for 2 days, but time did not improve it. Brought …

2021 vintage

Charcoal, blackberry, and a little booze on the back end. A little warmer (room) temperature leveled out the finish. Cooling off would regain focus; so, I recommend this at cellar temperature. There’s a softness and restraint here that is alluring. Hold for now, with the hope the alcohol integrates out of the execution (finish) with some sleepy time.

2021 vintage

First bottle of my 3 pack, since tasting with Steve, one of the owners, back in October at their estate. Pnp'd into a decanter, sampled along the way. There was a lot of thick sediment in this rather 'new' bottle. 1st hour......beautiful, fruity nose. Def some blueberry, but not as much as I remember from back in October. Tannis are present and carry some sandy grit to them. 92 2 hours.....the wine settles in, smooths out.....more blackberry together with the …

2021 vintage

2025 Napa : Such a great PS. All of the flavor, none of the overbearing tannic structure and biting acidity. Would not hesitate to pour at anytime, excited to see how this progresses over the next few years. Even my ‘white wine only’ daughter appreciated this one.

2021 vintage

My first bottle of this brand and let me say as others have stated this isn’t a go to or my favorite varietal but was absolutely fantastic. I loved it and feel that @Mark1NPT nailed the notes although I had it one point lower than he did. Steve and his lovely wife Felicia are such great stewards of this amazing property and truly are such wonderful people. If you haven’t already joined their list, I would get on it now. …

2021 vintage

A Visit to Palisades Canyon (Palisades Canyon Estate, Calitoga) : This wine is the surprise of the trip so far, and may end up retaining that title by the time our two weeks in wine country are over. While it pours that familiar inky purple petite sirah color, it is anything but familiar for the variety, at least by my standards. Where is the massive wall of tannin that requires twenty years to come down? This petite is immediately forward …

2021 vintage

Three hour decant. Opaque purple color. Blueberry jelly, wild strawberry, lemon rind, and amaretto. Very dry, plush palate, with silty acidity. Full tannins on the longish finish. Tasted this with the owners at the beautiful Palisades property. This is a unique, very fun PS.

2021 vintage

I'm going to preface this one by saying that this is not my fav Napa varietal. In fact, it may not even be in the top 5-6 for me? However, this Petite Sirah is unlike any I've ever had before, anywhere, not just Napa. The vines are 60+ yo and head trained with the old time Napa standard of 8 x 8 spacing. They turn out tremendous fruit and lots of it even at their current age. I had given …

2021 vintage

Our sixth trip to Wine Country - High Wine Auction Cultivation Trip - Napa tastings Day 1 (Napa, CA) : Tasting with Steve and Felicia at Palisades Canyon. We toured the historic vineyard and ghost winery on the property and then sat down for a tasting. Third wine in the tasting lineup. Made by Graeme MacDonald at Mending Wall. 120 cases made. From 60 year old headtrained vines. Dark purple in the glass. Dark fruit with med high tannin. Amazing …

2021 vintage

Napa 2024; 6/27/2024-7/2/2024 : One of the most drinkable young quality Petite Sirahs I’ve ever had. Given the vineyard location, I was expecting a high octane, motor oil mouthfeel, tannic beast that would need 15 years to find itself. To say I was wrong would be an understatement! Tannic structure of an elegant Cabernet and plenty of dark fruit fruit, enough acid and structure to age effortlessly, yet enough elegance to be had now! I am a Petite Sirah fan, …

2021 vintage

Are you sure?

Palisades Canyon Petite Sirah

Vintages

Community Reviews