2009 Bricco Babelico Tenbrink vineyards
2009 was a year of early and perfect ripeness for the Tenbrink’s Petite Sirah vineyard in Suisun Valley. Steve’s careful dry farming brought the fruit to deep richness and concentration without any roasting or over-ripeness. Yet this wine is utterly marked by a character related to the passito, dried-grape, wines of Northern Italy. It is not easy to put one’s finger on—but blind, the wine’s nose is so often identified as Amarone or Sfursat. Not a jammy or cooked-fruit richness that can arise in Northern California, but instead a tarry, porcini, and leather character that points to another world.