The 2006 Pickett Road is a wine of unbridled richness, huge tannins, massive fruit, earth, purity, and loads of blackberry, blueberry, incense, and graphite characteristics, a full-bodied, monster Petite Sirahs. Save for 6-8 years, and drink over the following two decades or more.With the exception of the Heritage Clones cuvee, Rosenblum Cellars’ Petite Sirahs are all inky/purple-colored. but the Pickett Road, Kick Ranch, and Rhodes Vineyard are all wines of unbridled richness, huge tannins, massive fruit, earth, purity, and loads of blackberry, blueberry, incense, and graphite characteristics. Petite Sirah may be California’s most underrated wine, especially when it comes to aging potential. It will never possess the complexity of a top Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon, but it can age effortlessly for two decades or more. I still have some Petite Sirahs from the early seventies in my cellar, and they remain delicious wines.Tel. (510) 865-7007

Nobody makes big, powerful, gooey, soft red wines like Kent Rosenblum, and maybe nobody ever will. His fans will be dancing in the streets over this massive bottling, an explosion of berry jam and dark chocolate that should age for many years. Others will find it merely ponderous.——S.H.(12/1/2008)—— 88