"What a wine it is"
by Alan Goldfarb

2000 Panza Napa Valley

Stag's Leap Ranch Petite Sirah ($36)

This is the second Petite Sirah released under the Panza label from Carl Doumani's Quixote Winery. What a wine it is, showing plumy, clove aromas and chewy but elegant structure. The wine is deep-flavored with flavors of plums and clove on a long finish. Hold on to it for a year or two and then drink it over the next seven or eight.

Doumani is the founder of Stags' Leap Winery in the east side of the Napa Valley off Silverado Trail and below the promontory that is Stags Leap.

The larger-than-life Doumani sold Stags' Leap and opened the whimsical, tile- and cupola-festooned Quixote facility nearby a few years ago. His first wines- another Pet and a Cabernet Sauvignon- under the Quixote label, are yet to be released.

Doumani says the initial Quixote Pet will be released sometime in late spring of early summer, while the Cab won't see the marketplace until next fall.

In the meantime, we'll have to be satisfied with the Panza Pet. This Petite Sirah comes from the estate's 7-year-old vineyard, of which there are 9.3 acres planted to the varietal.

The wine was kept in 25 percent new American oak for 18 months, while the remainder rested in new puncheons. The listed alcohol is 14.7, but the mouthfeel makes it seem less than that. Only 370 cases were produced.