2011 Aaron Paso Robles Petite Sirah

Most wine lovers agree that wine is to be shared and enjoyed with friends.  It’s so much fun to share some of my favorites, and I also love when friends do the same for me.

Last week I was introduced to a new wine, and I enjoyed it so much that I knew that I needed to blog about it!

Aaron Jackson is the owner and winemaker at Aaron Wines, located in the Paso Robles region of California’s Central Coast.   He’s a young guy who loves surfing and loves wine.  In fact, he knew at a very young age that he wanted to be a winemaker, and I for one am glad that he is!

The wine I had last week was his 2011 Aaron Paso Robles Petite Sirah.  As you probably know, Petite Sirah is NOT Syrah.  This is a common mistake made by many casual wine drinkers.  These two varieties do, however, share some similarities and perhaps some geographical history.  Petite Sirah vines have grown in California since the 1880s, and DNA research has suggested that this grape is likely Durif, a cross of the grapes Peloursin (an ancient Rhone varietal) and Syrah (another Rhone varietal), which was created in France in the 1880s. 

The 2011 Aaron Paso Robles Petite Sirah is Jackson’s flagship wine, and is a blend of his very best barrels of Petite Sirah.  The ’11 is a deep purple in color.  On the nose are blackberry, black currant, pepper and some leather.  The palate confirms the blackberry and black currant and has wonderful mocha flavors on the mid palate.  It has great complexity and yet is made in a pleasant easy to drink style.  After tasting this I was shocked to see that it contains 15% alcohol.  The wine is so well balanced that I would never have guessed that the alcohol is that high!

While I know nothing about Aaron Jackson’s surfing skills, I can certainly tell that he’s a darned good winemaker!  I also know that I will seek Aaron Wines out the next time I’m in Paso Robles.

If you’d like to learn more or purchase some of his wines go to: www.aaronwines.com