Nose
Layers of chocolate, coffee, cinnamon & vanilla cola are thanks to the new oak barrels.
Palate
Fresh boysenberries are intoxicatingly floral and jammy in a single juicy bite, which is exactly how this ‘little’ wine comes across. While young, our Petite Sirah will show big, chalky tannins rounded out with more boysenberry fruit before finishing with spicy white pepper notes. A bit of bottle age will keep this wine from biting you back
Growing Conditions
Our Petite Sirah is sourced from historic, old vines right in the heart of St. Helena. This dry-farmed vineyard is a staff favorite with a 20+ year history at Markham Vineyards! Without the luxury of water for irrigation, detrimental spring and summer heat spikes only contribute to the concentration this vineyard provides. A relatively early ripening varietal (perhaps due to its prime up-valley real estate location), this bottling consistently shows the devilishly dark color and concentration for which "Pets" is known. Our winemaking team selected only the finest barrels from the vintage to create this small bottling. Aged for over two full years in barrels, the new oak influence barely dents the surface of this monster.
Harvest
The 2011 vintage followed a similar trajectory as the 2010 vintage, which allowed us to understand and change our decisions accordingly. The cool, late year allowed our red
wines to develop intense flavor concentration while still retaining a perfect acid structure. Midway through harvest, an occasional day of showers would allow us to pause from
picking and focus on the bounty already harvested. Careful and vigilant viticulture was the key to ensuring our fruit arrived clean. The 2011 red wines promise to open for early
enjoyment and drink best in first seven years.
Winemaking
12 Days Skin Contact 100% Stainless Steel Fermentation
Aging
26½ Months Barrel Aged 54% New Oak
Food Pairing
Best bet is to go with the safe choice of grilled lamb or the largest rib-eye you can find to tame the beast!
