♦ 2009 Petite Sirah ♦

Vineyard: Pierce Ranch
Appellation: San Antonio Valley, Southwestern Monterey County
Wine: 100% Petite Sirah (Durif)
Alcohol: 13.2%
Production: 554 cases
100% Whole Berry Fermentation
Wild and Inoculated Yeasts
French, Hungarian and American Oak for 18 months
Wine is unfined and unfiltered.




 

The variety known in California as Petite Sirah has its origins in France where it is called Durif. It was named after Dr. Durif who propagated it from a cross of Peloursin and Syrah in 1880. Grown from vines in the San Antonio Valley appellation of southwestern Monterey County, this release has many layers of complexity including deep bush berries, exotic spices and hints of black pepper. Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard labeled its Petite Sirah with the Durif name from 1977 to 2008.

The grapes for this wine come from the relatively new appellation of San Antonio Valley in southwestern Monterey County. This high valley, west of Highway 101 is well suited to slightly warmer climate grape varieties. The block that these grapes come from is on top of a well-drained, shale covered hill.

We are using a relatively new approach in fermenting our Petite Sirah. The variety is famous for over-extracting tannins, often making wines of great fruit intensity, but commonly having a lot of astringency. Starting in 2005 we went to a method of whole berry fermentation of our Petite Sirah and we are very excited about the results.

When the grapes are processed they are only de-stemmed, not crushed at all. We de-stem them into small, one ton lot, fermentation bins. By not crushing the berries we release fewer of the harsh tannins during fermentation.

This wine was selected by The Wall Street Journal for its annual Wine Club. Here’s what they said: “This deep, dark Petite Sirah that was selected as one of America’s 12 best wines (out of 800 wines blind-tasted!) in the Wall Street Journal wine Luxury Dozen, an annual competition chaired by best-selling wine writer Hugh Johnson.”