2024 “Darwinian Seven” Petite Sirah, LM Vineyard, Jahant, Lodi
Tasting Notes
That this Petite, out of all of the wines of the variety I’ve made from Up North, has turned out to be the best one (if a week’s time from uncorking and pouring a glass, to recorking and tasting again, matched to my wolverine-trap memory, are legitimate guides) might go counter to prejudice; the vineyard is not in the Sierra Foothills and the ABV is under 15. But it is.
Many years ago, I was judging wines made from this variety, and I came across one that had an aroma reminiscent of the aftermath of the 1954 Castle Bravo thermonuclear test, specifically the Godzilla vs Cthulhu fart contest, generally considered a draw. This wine doesn’t smell like that. It smells like black Moab cranberry syrup, which if I could admit to its existence is neither sweet nor medicinal, its secret closely guarded by Danite wolverines. It does have some fancy oak, though. And some grippy tannin, and some silky tannin. And a finish that’s longer than I’m going to write about, at least now. It may be a matter of luck, which is of course the product of ability and probability.
The Vineyard
Jahant is the smallest AVA in Lodi, and separated from the largest (Mokelumne River) to its south by a straight line that just so happens to be a semi-major two lane blacktop, another illustration of the overwhelming importance of political terroir. The two are the coolest and driest parts of Lodi, and almost equally almost flatter than an almost cooked pancake. And while his neighbors wailed and wept over the state of the market, and abandoned their vineyards to the gods (Thor, a mead snob, Bacchus’ sober cousin, and some jerk I didn’t recognize), “LM” took assiduous care of his few rows of Petite Sirah, and picked them before they were overripe. The rest is mystery!
Specs
Alcohol: 14.7%
TA: 6.9 g/L
pH: 3.61
What’s Included
3-bottles:
3x - 2024 “Darwinian Seven” Petite Sirah, LM Vineyard, Jahant, Lodi
Case:
12x - 2024 “Darwinian Seven” Petite Sirah, LM Vineyard, Jahant, Lodi
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $720/case MSRP
About The Winery
Winery: Zeppelin Winery
Owners: Stillman Brown
Founded: 2009
Location: Paso Robles, CA
Zeppelin Winery is a very small producer of super premium wines, based on the Central Coast of California. Founded in 2009 by winemaker Stillman Brown of Red Zeppelin Winery and wine veteran Dan Lewis (he’s the office guy) they produce tiny lots of Syrah and other misunderstood varietals, with almost invariably insane labels. Most can only be purchased directly, but once in a while they emerge into the light of day.
Zeppelin Winery is a risibly small producer (a parking garagiste, if you valet neologisms) of super-duper* premium wines, primarily from two recently concocted sub appellations of west Paso Robles that split the hidden Hill of Graceland vineyard and currently attempting to grow two species of Vitis in Death Valley National Park.
Visitors are generally discouraged, especially if they are unlucky enough to find us. There is no tasting room. Sales are almost exclusively to our email list - there is no club to quit. And yet here we are on Casemates, as a new fan or forty is always good to have.
*Super wines that only a dupe would pass up. The term enjoyed some popularity amongst sommeliers, but was soon eclipsed by the Biodynamic lunacy, which was followed by the Natural Wine infection, which will shortly give way to a fad for - Fecal Fermentation.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
@klezman I’m looking forward to sending 100 mL bottles of 134 proof “Bad Water” (Death Valley distilled) to people upset about the lower alcohol of this plonk…
@ZeppelinWinery I’ve got some 110-ish proof fire water next to me right now! It’s the stuff that’s between 30 and 70 proof that I have a harder time with!
@rjquillin well there’s a picture of a drunken bum laying on the sidewalk outside the laundromat in Ridgecrest, and a glamour shot of me on my laptop with a glass of wine, and telescope peak in the background.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2024 Zeppelin Winery “Darwinian Seven” Petite Sirah - $40 = 10.52%
What? No love for NH this time around!?!?!
I obviously did something to be on Cthulhu’s list of people to torture and drive insane.
Sigh… really really not fair
For anyone wondering if they should buy this wine. Go ahead and buy it. If I was home right now, I would break open the darwinian six and give it a review for everyone…
Will the seven be remotely the same? I hope not! It wasn’t the same bloody year. It wasn’t from the sounds of it the same secret source of grapes.
So will it be any good?? Uh hella to the yesss!
Oh and if you are in new england, and buy some and don’t like, I’ll buy it off you. See almost no risk!
And no this not a super secret shill account (well SB would say that wouldnt he?) Just a person who loves Swillys brews.
/showme A skeletal hells angel biker, on a chopper motor cycle with wheels aflame. The skull head of the biker looks like it is laughing manically. One hand is on the handlebars, the other is holding up a bottle of wine that says “Swilly” on it. the back ground he is riding through is that of death valley. In that background you can see a vineyard with rows of grapes.
So in the interest of full disclosure, I am hardly a noob to this wine or unbiased as to my dear friend Swillman (I even attended his 60th birthday party and gorged on delicious tritip until myowater ran down my cheeks instead of tears.)
While I wasn’t there when a freak moonshining accident next to a daycare center accidentally created a fermenting genius who was half-still/half-man, his cousin Clancy was thankfully unaffected by the same disaster and went on to bring his family great joy as Mister Krabbz.
I have known Swilly well since the woot days and I have some of his wines that even he is out of (Deep Purple fans check in!). I have a La Mort Du Roi T-Shirt, a Dread Zeppelin T-shirt, and even the very rare “Creepy Uncle Stillman.” Along with probably 50-100 bottles of various Swill not counting the aging bottles he made for my kids. La Mort, Death to the Infidel, white label, marine layer, TNT, Counoise, Chateau d’Abalone… I’ve had them all.
I regularly buy everything Stillman makes from any source at any price because it will be delicious, a good value, and enjoyable. And that’s even though I have basically stopped buying wine otherwise. The only bad bottle out of the hundreds I’ve had was spoiled, and hey, Swilly happens.
Hey, I’m just laying my cards on the table here.
So I was thrilled when a free bottle of delicious swill showed up, as my liver has been suffering from lack of abuse lately, ever since Swilly left baja cayucos in the rear view.
SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY.
This arrived on Tuesday night. I popped and poured on Wednesday and after recorking with the bottle on the counter, I had the rest last night.
First of all, this is a baby, less than 16 months old. I felt bad drinking it, but I am willing to sacrifice for you people. As a preview, hold on to this for a bit before drinking it m
Second, Lodi is GENERALLY not one of my favorite AVAs, as I often find the PS from there delicious, but a little too one-note and jammy, lacking acidity. But In Swillman I Trust. And boy howdy did that trust pay off.
This is petite sirah for sure, but this is not your creepy uncle Stillman’s petite sirah. Or is it? Shit, now I’m even confusing myself.
On the first pour, it definitely smelled tight, and didn’t open up too much that first night. You can tell from the nose that there was plenty of acidity and structure, not overwhelming fruit, but notes in the blackberry region, with a little funky phenolic undertone that TMR always called “shoe polish”. It’s nice to smell.
Lookswise, it seems less viscous, less impenetrably dark, and had thinner legs than typical PS. Again, this was harvested in fall 2024, so it’s had way less time in barrel than typical. I’m curious as to how Swilly fermented this and maybe he’ll share details.
On the palate, it was true to the nose. It was tight (too much so, definitely get this some air before drinking it). Black raspberry pie filling, black cherry, blackberries, underripe blueberry flavor notes. Incredibly acid for a PS, almost like a Priorat, and lacked the typical super aggressive tannins. They were definitely there when I chewed and swished, but they were fine-grained leather glove style.
This doesn’t need a man-steak or a burger, you could have this with filet. It’s a medium-bodied, restrained PS, and out of Lodi, too! Swillman has discovered the vinological equivalent of Ritalin.
I’ve had more than enough PS to see what this wine will be with age and/or air, even when it was tight. My glass didn’t last long.
Night 2, it opened up somewhat, but still had plenty of room to go. The flavors were more approachable and accessible on both the nose and the palate and were closer to what this will be down the road. It was more integrated and especially nice with a bit of cheese. This is a food wine. You just want to keep going back for more.
I’m really interested to see how this does with long term aging because I haven’t had many petites like this. But I’m buying a case so I’m going to have a lot more.
@PetiteSirah Thank you for this most excellent and informative review; have been mightily impressed by all of the Stillman’s previous editions. Scored muhsef a case.
“Better bottle transit shock, than boron toxicity.”
The best taste I’ve had was from a bottle half full, opened poured and recorked a full week before by the Morro maids, as instructed - and it startled me. Particularly the finish.
Nevertheless both maids, normally enological racists (one white, one red) adored it, claiming structural drinkability from the first, as did Backhoe Ben in a separate series of tastes just last week. He called it “Fighting Wine” for the presumed effect of the rapidity with which he wanted to consume it.
And BB liked it better four days afterwards than two!
I almost had to fight him, but that would require a >500 word background story, and doesn’t indict the wine.
2024 “Darwinian Seven” Petite Sirah, LM Vineyard, Jahant, Lodi
Tasting Notes
The Vineyard
Specs
What’s Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $720/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Mar 9 - Tuesday, Mar 10
2024 Zeppelin Winery “Darwinian Seven” Petite Sirah
3 bottles for $94.99 $31.66/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $339.99 $28.33/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
I wanted to post a picture!
That goes along with backhoe Ben’s description of this as a “fighting wine”
@ZeppelinWinery
A Stillman wine under 15%?! Looking forward to the rats on this one!
@klezman I’m looking forward to sending 100 mL bottles of 134 proof “Bad Water” (Death Valley distilled) to people upset about the lower alcohol of this plonk…
@ZeppelinWinery I’ve got some 110-ish proof fire water next to me right now! It’s the stuff that’s between 30 and 70 proof that I have a harder time with!
@klezman yes, yes you are.
Maybe I can’t do that from my phone… Maybe I have to open my laptop.
O Woe.
@ZeppelinWinery
ezpz, only if you start in landscape mode,
otherwise it’s death to posting pics.
@rjquillin well there’s a picture of a drunken bum laying on the sidewalk outside the laundromat in Ridgecrest, and a glamour shot of me on my laptop with a glass of wine, and telescope peak in the background.
There should be a Rat that has been wanting one of these, as I deferred to him for the honors…
@rjquillin can I go to bed now or do I have to wait up to see the rating? It’s already after 9 PM California time. Grandpa’s tired!
Happy to see Stillman back. Stillman front is another story. Happy to grab some more of his really great wine.
@garyzim thank you!
I can’t follow up the front joke at the moment, unless there’s something involving a wardrobe malfunction… No that’s not it!
Autobuy!
/giphy stiff-loose-design
@MarkDaSpark Agree!!!
I’d rather have a bottle of Stillman’s in front of me, than a …
@MarkDaSpark
/giphy blunt-gross-soldier
@bunnymasseuse
The Autobuy or the “stiffer than a three-day-old corpse”???
@bunnymasseuse @MarkDaSpark I also agree. Love his PS.
@MarkDaSpark I mean, if you don’t know he’s dead you “ride it as you found it”
… lol
@bunnymasseuse
/giphy roflmao
@MarkDaSpark HI SPARKY
@bunnymasseuse HI BUNNY
@MarkDaSpark @PetiteSirah Miss my case-peeps!
Only have one bottle of the '23 left; c’mon, this is a critical rattage. . .
I wish this was a mixed case. In for 6. No room even after giving wine as Christmas gifts.
/giphy flirtatious-elusive-engine
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2024 Zeppelin Winery “Darwinian Seven” Petite Sirah - $40 = 10.52%
/giphy toothless-outstanding-can
What? No love for NH this time around!?!?!
I obviously did something to be on Cthulhu’s list of people to torture and drive insane.
Sigh… really really not fair
For anyone wondering if they should buy this wine. Go ahead and buy it. If I was home right now, I would break open the darwinian six and give it a review for everyone…
Will the seven be remotely the same? I hope not! It wasn’t the same bloody year. It wasn’t from the sounds of it the same secret source of grapes.
So will it be any good?? Uh hella to the yesss!
Oh and if you are in new england, and buy some and don’t like, I’ll buy it off you. See almost no risk!
And no this not a super secret shill account (well SB would say that wouldnt he?) Just a person who loves Swillys brews.
@outdoorslife im in NH as well. Fortunately have an alternate work address I can ship to. Happy to get you some if you want to ship there too
/showme A skeletal hells angel biker, on a chopper motor cycle with wheels aflame. The skull head of the biker looks like it is laughing manically. One hand is on the handlebars, the other is holding up a bottle of wine that says “Swilly” on it. the back ground he is riding through is that of death valley. In that background you can see a vineyard with rows of grapes.
@outdoorslife Here’s the image you requested for “A skeletal hells angel biker, on a chopper motor cycle with wheels aflame. The skull head of the …”
@mediocrebot Nailed it!
So in the interest of full disclosure, I am hardly a noob to this wine or unbiased as to my dear friend Swillman (I even attended his 60th birthday party and gorged on delicious tritip until myowater ran down my cheeks instead of tears.)
While I wasn’t there when a freak moonshining accident next to a daycare center accidentally created a fermenting genius who was half-still/half-man, his cousin Clancy was thankfully unaffected by the same disaster and went on to bring his family great joy as Mister Krabbz.
I have known Swilly well since the woot days and I have some of his wines that even he is out of (Deep Purple fans check in!). I have a La Mort Du Roi T-Shirt, a Dread Zeppelin T-shirt, and even the very rare “Creepy Uncle Stillman.” Along with probably 50-100 bottles of various Swill not counting the aging bottles he made for my kids. La Mort, Death to the Infidel, white label, marine layer, TNT, Counoise, Chateau d’Abalone… I’ve had them all.
I regularly buy everything Stillman makes from any source at any price because it will be delicious, a good value, and enjoyable. And that’s even though I have basically stopped buying wine otherwise. The only bad bottle out of the hundreds I’ve had was spoiled, and hey, Swilly happens.
Hey, I’m just laying my cards on the table here.
So I was thrilled when a free bottle of delicious swill showed up, as my liver has been suffering from lack of abuse lately, ever since Swilly left baja cayucos in the rear view.
SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY.
This arrived on Tuesday night. I popped and poured on Wednesday and after recorking with the bottle on the counter, I had the rest last night.
First of all, this is a baby, less than 16 months old. I felt bad drinking it, but I am willing to sacrifice for you people. As a preview, hold on to this for a bit before drinking it m
Second, Lodi is GENERALLY not one of my favorite AVAs, as I often find the PS from there delicious, but a little too one-note and jammy, lacking acidity. But In Swillman I Trust. And boy howdy did that trust pay off.
This is petite sirah for sure, but this is not your creepy uncle Stillman’s petite sirah. Or is it? Shit, now I’m even confusing myself.
On the first pour, it definitely smelled tight, and didn’t open up too much that first night. You can tell from the nose that there was plenty of acidity and structure, not overwhelming fruit, but notes in the blackberry region, with a little funky phenolic undertone that TMR always called “shoe polish”. It’s nice to smell.
Lookswise, it seems less viscous, less impenetrably dark, and had thinner legs than typical PS. Again, this was harvested in fall 2024, so it’s had way less time in barrel than typical. I’m curious as to how Swilly fermented this and maybe he’ll share details.
On the palate, it was true to the nose. It was tight (too much so, definitely get this some air before drinking it). Black raspberry pie filling, black cherry, blackberries, underripe blueberry flavor notes. Incredibly acid for a PS, almost like a Priorat, and lacked the typical super aggressive tannins. They were definitely there when I chewed and swished, but they were fine-grained leather glove style.
This doesn’t need a man-steak or a burger, you could have this with filet. It’s a medium-bodied, restrained PS, and out of Lodi, too! Swillman has discovered the vinological equivalent of Ritalin.
I’ve had more than enough PS to see what this wine will be with age and/or air, even when it was tight. My glass didn’t last long.
Night 2, it opened up somewhat, but still had plenty of room to go. The flavors were more approachable and accessible on both the nose and the palate and were closer to what this will be down the road. It was more integrated and especially nice with a bit of cheese. This is a food wine. You just want to keep going back for more.
I’m really interested to see how this does with long term aging because I haven’t had many petites like this. But I’m buying a case so I’m going to have a lot more.
You should too.
@PetiteSirah Great review, as always. Does this benefit greatly from a 10 year hibernation or is it approachable in a shorter time span?
@jmdavidson1 I think this one will be approachable sooner, but it will definitely need some air if you want to enjoy it in the next year or so.
@PetiteSirah Thank you for this most excellent and informative review; have been mightily impressed by all of the Stillman’s previous editions. Scored muhsef a case.
“Better bottle transit shock, than boron toxicity.”
The best taste I’ve had was from a bottle half full, opened poured and recorked a full week before by the Morro maids, as instructed - and it startled me. Particularly the finish.
Nevertheless both maids, normally enological racists (one white, one red) adored it, claiming structural drinkability from the first, as did Backhoe Ben in a separate series of tastes just last week. He called it “Fighting Wine” for the presumed effect of the rapidity with which he wanted to consume it.
And BB liked it better four days afterwards than two!
I almost had to fight him, but that would require a >500 word background story, and doesn’t indict the wine.
@ZeppelinWinery This is not Backhoe Ben. It’s probably not a member of the Fireballs, who had that 1965 hit song, either.
@ZeppelinWinery
Congrats Swilly. it’s been quite a while since we had one of these