Petite Sirah NV No. 1
Varietal:
100% Petite Sirah (60% 2019 + 40% 2018)
Alcohol:
13%
Vinification Notes:
Petite Sirah is well known to have a pronounced and—at times—overwhelming tannic profile. We take extra care to capture the fruit’s beautiful aromatics while keeping the tannin in check. This is a non vintage wine from 2018 and 2019, and both years we followed a similar process: Grapes were harvested by hand, kept whole-cluster, and began fermentation in a stainless steel tank. For the first 7 days of fermentation we kept the tank sealed (semi-carbonic maceration) and checked twice daily to ensure the fermentation was active and healthy. We then drained and pressed the tank, and racked the still fermenting juice to neutral oak barrels, where it completed fermentation. The 2019 vintage was kept in barrel for 9 months before racking and blending with two barrels from 2018, by then aged for 21 months.
Vineyard:
60% Benson Ranch, Mendocino County; 15-year-old vines; dry farmed (no irrigation) to organic principles without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers; gravelly loam soils.
40% Chiarito Vineyard, Mendocino County; a new vineyard that we are leasing and farming; 27-year-old vines; head trained, no till; farmed to organic principles without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers; loam soils.
Tasting Notes:
The newer vintage provides fresh aromas of blueberries, raw chocolate, Ethiopian coffee, and sweet chili spice. Petite Sirah’s powerful tannin structure is mellowed into a silky palate, made possible by extra time in barrel and through blending vintages. While it is fresh and joyful to drink today, this is a wine that we can’t wait to see develop over the next many years.
Tableside Talk
A silky palate that is joyful for today and primed to develop over up to 10 years.
Martha's Notes
The wild flavors of Petite Sirah have been a part of California’s viticultural history almost since the variety has existed. Petite Sirah was developed by the French botanist Francois Durif in 1880 as a cross between Syrah and the almost extinct Peloursin grape, and imported into CA in 1884. Although it was bred in France, it is rarely grown outside of California, and as such many of us in CA have taken up its banner. This makes a beautiful, opulent (but balanced) age-worthy wine that you can drink now or cellar. The history is what drew me to making this wine, but the flavors are why I drink it. I drink this when I’m home alone listening to D’Angelo’s Voodoo album and trying on outfits. Aka this is the wine to drink when you want to do whatever the f* you want, and feel sexy doing it.
Production Notes
Production: 106 cases
At Bottling:
13% alcohol. Unfined. Unfiltered. At bottling (June 2020): free SO2 < 2 mg/L, total SO2 5 mg/L.
