Petroni (4.63)




Open: By appointment

Appt required? Yes

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012 (April 15, 2012 Itinerary)

Directions:

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Tasting:
The Petroni winemaking operation runs out of an Italian-style villa perched on a hillside in the Mayacamas mountains. Visitors trek up single lane Cavedale Road. Watch for the American and Italian flags flying side-by-side or you may miss the entrance to the compound.

And compound is the correct term. A heavy iron gate bars the entrance and after a few failed attempts at calling through the gate intercom we finally were allowed access. Tastings are conducted within the open air villa, either on couches, bar stools, at a large oak dining table, or if you prefer, poolside in the sun. We tasted two whites (a Sauvignon Blanc and a very good Chardonnay), a Rosato, and five very interesting reds.

Our first red was the 2010 Pinot Noir. The wine exhibited good structure and got me excited for the potential of what was coming. Our next wine was the 2007 Rosso di Sonoma, a proprietary blend of Sangiovese, Syrah, and Cabernet. This was a great food wine and attractively priced at $25. We moved on to the 2007 Syrah, another very solid wine, before trying the two flagship wines side-by-side: the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2005 Brunello di Sonoma.

Wait a second – Brunello in California? It’s not a typo. Winery owner Lorenzo Petroni wanted to make a Brunello and took cuttings from Tuscany to bring the grapes to his property. Nevertheless, he did get a cease and desist letter. Apparently the term “Brunello” is controlled by 5 families in Italy, and they were not about to let some upstart American infringe on their well-established brand. Lorenzo was not easily dissuaded, though. He flew representatives from all five families out to California, wined and dined them, brought them to his estate so they could review the winemaking process, and ultimately garnered their approval to use the name. The branding continued until recently, when it was determined (for a reason I can’t remember) that they can no longer call the wine Brunello, and so the 2005 will be the last Sangiovese that is labeled “Brunello” by Petroni.

One other interesting highlight to the tasting – once we moved from whites into reds, we were given a plate of the estate-grown olive oil and some bread to pair with the tasting. Petroni had also imported several dozen olive trees that he planted above the estate Cabernet vineyard, and the olive oil with its peppery finish brought out the food-friendliness of the Petroni wines.

We finished the tasting and ended up ordering 6 bottles of wine to ship. Our host Ryan said, “Oh, and for the $20 tasting fee, do you want me to just put that on this order as well?” I bristled, but grudgingly said, “Sure”. Maybe Ryan sensed my displeasure, or maybe had just forgotten but he quickly followed up with “Oh, wait a minute – you ordered 6 bottles, and we usually waive one tasting fee for every six, and since you split we’re all good.” Close one Ryan! I’m not opposed to Petroni recouping costs, but with a 6 bottle order I’m happy I didn’t have to pay to taste on top of it.

We rounded out the tasting with a stroll around the grounds before the winding trip back down the mountain. Overall, this was a very solid tasting experience. The wines were quite good, fairly priced, and the property was beautiful. Recommended.



Recommended wine: The wines were consistently solid across the board, but I particularly enjoyed the Pinot Noir and the Rosso di Sonoma. The "Brunello" was also quite good and an interesting novelty bottle to stash away.

Ratings (out of 5):


WINE
4.50
TASTING ROOM
5.00

ATMOSPHERE
4.50
VALUE
4.50

OVERALL
4.63

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