ProdigiouS

The first of my PSamPleS from the ProducerS is the Big House 2006 Prodigal Son. It's from PaSo Robles, clockes in at a relatively PSlender 13.5% ABV, and a pH of 3.75. It was released in October 2008, has a suggested retail price of 14.99 and comes with a screwtop. The Producer recommends pairing it with smokey/grilled/bbq meats.

On pour (into a Riedel Vinum Syrah glass), the color is an extremely dark ruby, with a thin translucent rim. It smells incredibly juicy. It's a little tight on pop and pour, but has lots of nice structure, and is medium-to-full bodied (i.e., light for a PS). The nose initially smells like Ocean-Spray Cran-Blueberry with a bit of clove and black pepper. The tannins are very fine and silty, the finish is about 25 seconds long. There's a bit of awkward bitterness on the transition from the midpalate to the finish, but I suspect that will alleviate with air and time, as it got less pronounced but didn't disappear.

As it opens up, the palate turns to candied black cherry and the tannins fade. Right now, it's all elbow-and-knees but I think it will improve with a few more years in the bottle. OK for the MSRP, but if you can find it for cheaper (and I'm sure you can) it becomes a pretty nice value. Not a bad way to show off the light-bodied side of PS, but I'm not really blown away.