2018 Petite Sirah

Vineyard

Properties: Bales Creek
Appellation: Spring Mountain District
Clonal Selections: Heritage Old Vine
Yields: 3 tons

Growing Season:

2018 was a seamless season of heavenly hang time and phenomenal phenolic development

February saw abundant rains, followed by lots of filtered light in spring and early summer. Both bud break and flowering occurred a bit late, but under ideal weather conditions, creating plentiful and even fruit set. Summer brought generous sun during the day and cooler marine influences, virtually uninterrupted by major heat spikes. The relatively mild summer followed by extended fall sunshine and moderate heat created near-ideal conditions for winemakers to allow their fruit to accumulate flavor complexity with gradual increases in sugar levels. Volume is looking great, up 20-30% increase over average crop quantity.

Harvest Date:  October 12, 2018

Harvest Brix: 26.0

Winemaking:

Hand-harvested, picked at night
Gently de-stemmed and whole berries transferred to stainless steel
Cold soaked for 48 hours
Inoculated with D254 yeast and fermented for 21 days on the skins
Free run juice drained from tank, settled for 24 hours then racked to barrel
Aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, 66% new
Coopers: Nadalie, Orion and Ermitage

Tasting Notes: Brighter red fruit, boysenberry, dark cherry, cigar box, cedar, licorice, juicy. Plum and sweet fruit on the finish. Red Fruit focused.  We recommend decanting this young mountain Petite Sirah for an hour. A touch of Cabernet smoothies out the finish and makes this petite Sirah rich and drinkable. Soft, finish, smoothie.