Kokomo 2007 Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah

*Bottle #97: Kokomo 2007 Petite Sirah, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
*Price Tag: $25
*Running Tab: $1,324
*Retailer: Kokomo Winery herself

Kokomo. Not the one in Hawaii or the island in Jamaica formerly known as such, but the Kokomo that is in Indiana. Kokomo, Indiana: the state’s 13th largest city, home of the famous “Gas Tower” and an unfortunate old-school notoriety for the Ku Klux Klan…

Kokomo, Indiana: the hometown of young Erik Miller, Purdue grad and proud-midwesterner, in which he named his Dry Creek Valley winery after. Erik moved west quickly after he turned his tassel and started building relationships with the wine industry vets around him in Sonoma County.

After putting in some grunt work in a few cellars, Erik went back to school at U.C. Davis to work on his oenology degree which lead him to a full-time job opportunity in the cellar for Amphora Winery. On the side, Erik got his start and launched his first release for Kokomo Winery in 2004 with single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Dry Creek Valley.

The following year, Erik brought in a college buddy with similar interests who later because his assistant winemaker. Today, Erik and his team are putting out 90+ point wines, getting nods from the likes of Wine Enthusiast, Spectator, San Francisco Chronicle, multiple international wine competitions and several book mentions.

Down to business while touring in the greater area of Napa Valley, the boy and I stumbled upon Kokomo while getting lost somewhere between Healdsburg and the boondocks earlier this spring. Amongst the co-op style wineries at Timber Crest Farms, we were immediately drawn into the allure of Kokomo’s “Timber Crest Estate” winery.

After befriending an extremely timid dog, we met owner (of the dog), grower (of 70% of the winery’s fruit) and partner (of the winery), Randy Peters and essentially his whole family (wife and two daughters) that were running the tasting room that day. And does a tasting room experience ever sell the wine itself… We walked with several bottles of Kokomo within the hour after we talked their heads off with questions only obnoxious fellow winos would ask.

One such wine we walked with is the 2007 Dry Creek Petite Sirah.

I read a Wine Enthusiast review on this wine (which gave it 91 points) that made me laugh and beam in my Czech-Jewish descent pride. “The Yiddish word “zaftig” perfectly describes this Petite Sirah,” the reveiwer stated. “Zaftig” translates into “big, juicy and buxom,” most likely used for the long-time single Jewish women more so than wine, but you’ve got to love the handling of the word.

And oy vey, was he right. This Petite Sirah (like most of its kind) was far from petite with big, robust aromas of fleshy fruits in red berries, plums and black currants. Beyond the fruit emerged the lavish savory elements of baking chocolate, blueberry pie, bacon and cracked pepper.

Solid and forward fruit hit the palate first, deep in concentration but elegant and refraining from the weight of syrupiness. Lush and full-bodied, the wine had fine tannins, lower acid and a dry berry-pie finish that made me salivate. Definitely buxom and juicy in its mouthfeel, it finishes balanced in all of its facets and will continue to develop in its voluptuousness over time.

If I remember correctly and referring to my bank statements, I liked all of Erik’s wines and spent accordingly… Happy to taste it now and rest assured I wasn’t just drunk with my credit card a’blazin’!

Score: 8.5.