2017 The Vice Single Vineyard Petite Sirah Mount Veeder Napa Valley

Collectors of big, powerful Napa reds look to the region’s mountain appellations for wines of a distinct focus, minerality, and cellar potential. The one less appealing commonality of these “mountain wines” is their (often prohibitive) cost. That’s why we locked in the entire allocation of the show-stopping 2017 The Vice Single Vineyard Petite Sirah from Mount Veeder as soon as we negotiated today’s crazy discounted price. 

This is a soaring and explosive Petite Sirah for the money. It hails from a Mount Veeder vineyard that we can’t name, one that is often mentioned in the same breath as Mayacamas Vineyards, and whose 2017 estate wines are selling this very moment for $40 to $100+.

Just about as inky and dark as you’d expect from high-elevation Petite Sirah grapes, the concentration is impressive—and addictive. Packed with dark cherry, currant, violet and a bold tannin structure, the layers of minerally graphite evoke rocky mountain vineyard terrain, though everything remains lifted despite its density. The lengthy, espresso-tinged finish is as gratifying as we’d expect from this (secret) star vineyard and The Vice’s great winemaking team. 

A single-vineyard Mount Veeder powerhouse red like this is possible for under $30 because few wineries can get Petite Sirah as perfect as this, and its wines are often overlooked as a result. Perhaps California’s true quintessential variety, the larger-than-life grape is so powerful, it’s often a challenge to tame and a tough wine to pair well with most foods.

But Vice’s proprietor, Malek Amrani, and his uber-talented winemaker Vance Rose, have a keen eye for quality and, once they tasted it, snapped up the tiny percentage of Petite Sirah that grows in this famous vineyard. Rose treats his Petite Sirah like the high-elevation, Mount Veeder wonder that it is, capturing its wonderful mineral verve and impeccable balance to complement the wine’s lush, ripe black and blue fruit.

We can’t give away too many identifying details, but the site that gave us the 2017 Vice Petite Sirah is in the heart of the Mount Veeder AVA, nestled at the base of the Mayacamas Range, on the west side of Napa Valley. It was once a seabed that was pushed upward during the formation of the mountains, lending it a unique soil structure of marine sediments and volcanic material. Topsoils are thin, vineyard pitches are steep, and most of the mountain remains covered in forest. The resulting grapes are small and intensely concentrated, the fruit blue and pretty, with powerful tannins that tend to age gracefully.

For all the polish of the 2017 Vice Petite Sirah, there’s also a profound mineral component and freshness derived from a cooler, longer growing season. The combination of power and focus is memorable—this red is energetic and engaging through and through. 

Since we first discovered their wines at a Napa bistro, The Vice’s profile has been steadily rising, especially among the New York sommelier set who lately can’t get enough of Napa’s mountain AVAs. The Vice has been spotted on the list at hot spots like Black Barn, Old Homestead, Il Mulino Gramercy, Nix, and Ammos Estiatorio. It doesn’t hurt that they’ve got a stellar winemaker at the helm: Vance Rose’s résumé includes stints with stellar estates including Rosemount in Australia, Donum in Carneros, Ehlers in St. Helena, plus Napa’s Grieve Family Winery and Double Eagle. 

Couple that expertise with fruit sourced from an impeccably farmed Mount Veeder vineyard, and you’ve got a full-bodied Petite Sirah that outperforms its price—the ultimate case-buy for any lover of bold Napa reds. Just don’t wait…we may have snapped up the entire allocation, but there wasn’t much to begin with—and that was before we snuck a few cases for ourselves.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 15.00%
• 15 mins
• Now – 2028
• % Petite Sirah
• Serving temperature – 58°
• Cork