Petite Sirah is one of the last grapes that we pick each year. To get the rich, full-bodied complexity in this wine that so many of us have come to love, the wine crew has to be very patient. In general, Petite Sirah can be a pretty fickle grape. First of all, it has a thin skin which allows it to rot easily when rained on. So, in 2007, we had an ideal harvest for the Petite Sirah because there was no rain!

Petite Sirah also retains a high level of natural acidity, so we strive to leave the grapes on the vine late into the growing season to allow sugar levels to rise creating a softer, less tannic wine. The end result is a big, bold wine with a chocolaty texture that only becomes more sophisticated as it ages.

As Petite Sirah goes, we are proud to say that we use some of the very best grapes. Camp Four and Rodney's Vineyards consist of clones from the Palisades and Rockpile vines which are, originally, 100+ year clones from Rosenblum up in Napa/Sonoma. The production for our Petite Sirah grapes in 2007 followed suit with our other reds, but with a few subtle, yet important changes. We pressed off the juice a little early when sweet to once again help soften the tannins. We then took the drained juice and basket pressed the must as a gentle, non-manipulative way of doing a final juice press. For barreling, we aged the juice for 22 months in primarily French oak (60% new) barrels with a little bit of the juice going into American oak barrels for a slight vanilla flavor. As a final blend, our 2007 vintage consists of 83% Petite Sirah and 17% Syrah from the Stagecoach Vineyard in Napa to add some depth and complexity to the wine. This opaque, dark purple/black inky wine exudes aromas of blackberry, plum, cocoa, black pepper, black licorice, espresso, cinnamon and smoke. The massive structure and full texture is nicely balanced by the palate subtleties of blackberry compote, dark chocolate, dark roast coffee, blueberry, vanilla and allspice. An impressive addition to a long time favorite wine for Epiphany, the 2007 Petite Sirah will be a wine that can be enjoyed for years to come.

900 cases made.