Palate
This rich, supple and complex Petite Sirah is full-bodied, with generous depth and length. The palate deciphers concentrated blue fruit, black fruit, spice and wild herb flavors. The structure brings plenty of muscle, but the flavors keep pumping through the long finish.
Growing Conditions
2014 was a vintage that brought us a third year of drought. Our farming practices give us an edge over traditional farmers, since our vines have been taught to drive their roots deep into the soils, claiming water from below, not above. However, if the rain doesn’t come soon we can expect some difficulties ahead. We received “miracle rains” in March, and a shake-up by Mother Earth in August kept us on our toes (thankfully we only had a few repairs needed). The summer went smoothly, without significant heat spikes, but we did see high humidity throughout. Harvest was fast and compact until the early part of October provided a break to process the massive amounts of fruit. This is another great vintage on the heels of the fantastic 2012’s, and superb 2013’s; 2014, creating wines of true pedigree.
Bottling
Bottled in April 2016.
Winemaking
Strict tannin management is a must with Petite Sirah. The grapes were cold soaked prior to fermentation and spent around 12 days on the skins. The grapes were lightly pressed to maintain a delicate balance between flavors, color and tannins.
Aging
The wine spent 18 months in 30% new French oak.
