Winery: Oak Ridge Winery

Vintage: 2009

Wine Name/Vineyard: Old Soul

Wine Category: Petite Sirah

Grape blend: Petite Sirah

Bottle size: 750 ml

Region: Lodi

State or country: CA

Price: $16.00

ABV: 13.0%

Cases produced: N/A

The Barrel Cellar Score:  88 points

Review date: March 1, 2020

About the Winemaker:   Oak Ridge Winery produces wines across a variety of labels.  Oak Ridge is the longest operating winery in the Lodi AVA (1934) the Old Soul name is meant to recognize both the age of their winery and the vines that produced the wine.  Oak Ridge grapes are harvested from over 7,500 acres of vineyards in the central coast region.

Color:  Deep Purple

Nose:  Strawberry jam, brown sugar, oak.

Taste: Strawberry, bay leaf, raisin, and oak. Finish: Oak, and dried herbs.

Assessment:  This wine is a bit of a trickster.  When the first sip of this wine hit my palate, I immediately thought this wine was sweet.  After having a few seconds to actually taste the wine, I realized; to my liking, that it is not sweet in the least.  The wine is lighter in body and texture than a typical Petite Sirah.  It doesn’t have the “inkiness” that I would expect in a Petite Sirah, nor does it have tannins that I would expect.  I’ve gathered that there might be a blend of a few other grapes in this, but I was not able to confirm it. Over all the balance is nice, the flavors are nice, and the price is nice.

Oak Ridge Winery’s “Old Soul” Petite Sirah is a good wine.  88 points.

 

Pairing recommendation:  This is a great wine for barbeque.