A Wine Lover's Weekly Review Of $10 Wines - A Mexican Petite Syrah

This is our first Mexican wine review. In fact, this is the first Mexican wine that I have tasted in years, or perhaps in decades. Mexico is the oldest wine producer in the Americas. In 1520 the Conquistadors arrived. The very next year they started planting vines. By 1524 they passed a law about planting vines. But by the end of the Sixteenth Century Spain passed a law against planting additional vineyards in Mexico; winemakers in the mother country were unhappy about the competition coming from the New World. On a per capita basis Mexicans drink one thirtieth of the wine consumed by Americans, who are far from world leaders in this category.

The La Cetto Winery was founded by an Italian, Angelo Cetto, in 1930. This company now produces an almost unbelievable half of Mexico's wine. Its vineyards are in the Valle de Guadalupe in northern Baja California, the most important Mexican wine producing area. Petite Sirah is a relatively little known variety that may be a very pedestrian French red grape or perhaps a relative of the popular Syrah. This bottle carries a sticker of the Taster's Guild, announcing a Silver Winning Wine 2009 at their International Wine Judging.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review have been purchased at the full retail price. Wine Reviewed

L. A. Cetto Petite Sirah 2007 12.5% alcohol about $10

Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note : You can't beat the value of this wine: you simply won't find a better wine for the money. Juicy, round and ripe with aromas of black plums, black raspberry and vanilla smoke. Food matches: spicy black bean dishes, steak-and-cheese enchiladas. Score - 89. (Natalie MacLean, at her web site, June 6, 2009) And now for my review.

At the first sips this wine's acidity was harsh. It had a lot of power but was harsh. The first meal was a cheeseless lasagna based on a moderately spicy salsa. Now I felt I was really tasting this wine. I tasted plums and light, pleasant tannins and chocolate. A liberal dousing of Louisiana cayenne pepper sauce thinned this Petite Sirah.

The next meal was a slow cooked London Broil steak with potato patties and green beans, all cooked together. This wine was slightly sour and grapey but did have chocolate at the finish. Once again I added Louisiana cayenne pepper sauce, this time it intensified the chocolate. With a palm heart, green pimento, olive, canned corn, and chickpeas salad the wine was strong with chocolate predominating.

My final meal consisted of meatballs and rice with a side of cooked zucchini and chickpeas bathing in a ground tomato sauce. The wine was dark with plums and grapes in the background. It seemed weaker when paired with the veggies.

With a Swiss cheese this Petite Sirah was not very flavorful but did taste a bit of oak. When paired with whipped cream cheese, it picked up and tasted of dark cherries. I added some smoked salmon and the wine continued to perk up.

Final verdict. I don't think that I will buy this wine again. I just can't agree with the rave reviews. As a bit of added trivia, this Mexican winery is the world's largest producer of the famous Italian grape Nebbiolo, outside of Italy. If I can ever get my hands on such a bottle I will give it a try.

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Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten computer and Internet books, but frankly prefers drinking fine German or other wine, accompanied by the right foods and the right people. He teaches computer classes at an Ontario French-language community college. Check out his wine website http://www.theworldwidewine.com with a weekly column reviewing $10 wines and new sections writing about (theory) and tasting (practice) organic and kosher wines.

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