2021 Petite Sirah
This full-bodied wine is rich with dark chocolate bouquets and blueberry, blackberry, and red currant aromas. The new American Oak aging adds a hefty blanket of tannins that covers the mid and back palette. It is very ripe and profound on the nose yet restrained and balanced in the mouth. It’s undoubtedly a full-bodied and tannic win, the heaviest wine we offer! My favorite notes on this wine are the aromatic lavender and violet fragrances. Then, the taste is overtaken by black cherries, blackberries, and a hint of black pepper and allspice. There's certainly no rush to drink this. It will age gracefully for the next ten years.
We destemmed, fermented, pressed, and barreled at Sculpterra Winery. A portion of this wine is fermented and aged in new large format puncheon barrels, significantly helping stabilize its deep color and soften its immense mouthfeel. We used three yeast strains, splitting the wine into three lots and enhancing its intricate tastes. We pressed at just 1.5 bars, being extra cautious not to impart any unwanted bitter flavors. The oak aging for this 100% Petite Sirah is a remarkable pairing! 53% of the barrels were new American and Hungarian barrels from various coopers. We chose barrel maker APJ for two 475-liter oversized Appellation oak barrels. These barrels offer black coffee, cocoa, and roasted almond qualities. Demptos Hungarian 265-liter new barrels were used and imparted grilled meats, fresh cut cedar, and dark chocolate taste into the wine. The wine was only racked once post Malo-Lactic fermentation, then barrels were topped and tasted every six weeks. We elected to age this wine for 22 months, giving it ample time to soak up the wood flavors, gain barrel complexity, and soften up. We bottled 510 cases in mid-August 2023.
| Download Wine Notes |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Varietal | 100% Peite Sirah |
| Varietal Composition | 100% Petite Sirah |
| Appellation | Paso Robles |
| Vineyard | Frankel Family Estate |
| Acid | 0.70 g/100 ml |
| PH | 3.62 |
| Residual Sugar | 0.08 g/100 ml |
| Alcohol | 15.40% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Bottling Date | 08/16/2023 |
| Cases Produced | 510 |
Welcome to our 2021 Petite Sirah, a HUGE wine, opaque in color, full of concentrated flavors, yet elegant and smooth on the finish. This wine is our best cellaring candidate due to its dry tannins and puckering acidity. We pride ourselves on producing the best Petite Sirah in the region with the most consistent and healthy fruit imaginable. The vines are located on a small 1.5-acre vineyard named “Lago De Los Patos.” The vineyard produces big berries with thick skins, and we limit the crop to two clusters per shoot. In July, we drop excess fruit to give the remaining fruit more sunlight and air space. We use guide wires to expose the east-facing morning side of the canopy to increase sunlight and wind. We let the west side of the canopy hang down from top to bottom to provide late afternoon shade. I loved the 2021 harvest, especially for Petite Sirah. Timing and weather were perfect all year; from bud break to bloom to berry set to harvest, all parts were right where I wanted them to be. The hand harvest took place on October 2. We picked into half-ton bins and delivered them straight to the winery.
