Winemaker's Notes
Petite Sirah is named after Francois Durif, a botanist from the
French University of Montepelier. The original source seed was
obtained from the berry of another French variety named Peloursin,
and after more then 100 years, the father was identified through
DNA analysis as Syrah. This variety, Durif in France, Petite Sirah
in the US, is most often blended to increase the color and
structure of Zinfandel wines.
Petit Sirah contains generous amounts of tannin, color, and
backbone. Most often used as a blender for just these reasons, it
can be a challenge to make into a balanced varietal wine.
Understanding these challenges, we constructed a winemaking plan to
maximize the varietal characteristics and minimize bitterness and
harshness. The first step was to ensure the fruit had enough
varietal character to complement their tannin and color. The grapes
were harvested at the peak of ripeness to yield the maximum amount
of fruit character possible. These fully mature grapes had the
additional advantage of lower amounts of “green” or “harsh”
tannins. In order to minimize the remaining “harsh” tannins, our
Estate Petite Sirah was fermented in our stainless steel Submerged
Cap Fermentation Tanks to ensure the resulting wine tannins would
be “soft”. We then aged the wine in French and American oak
barrels. During final blending 10% Estate Grown Syrah was added to
enhance and flesh out the wine’s undertones.
Inky dark purple, in color the wine has an elegant nose that
begins with blueberries and blackberries. Fruit gives way to cocoa,
smoke, tar, and vanilla. On the palate, notes of pencil shavings
and black pepper integrate with the chewy, dusty tannins. The
acidity in the long, pleasant finish alances the tannins and ends
with lingering bing cherry notes.
Production and Technical Data: Alcohol 14.5%
Residual Sugar: less than 0.1%
pH: 3.5
Bottling Date: December 07, 2007
Varietal Content: 89.9% Petite Sirah, 10.1% Syrah, Estate Grown,
Shenandoah Valley, California
Only 719 cases produced.