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.