2007 Estate Reserve Petite Sirah Released

Our Estate Grown Petite Sirah grapes received, as always, very special care during the 2007 growing season. We are fortunate to have several blocks of Petite Sirah each with varying ages, elevation and sun exposure. We hand-thinned the crop and did extensive deleafing to expose the fruit, maximizing pigment in the berry’s skin.

All this work paid off and allowed us to get concentrated and healthy fruit. The favorable growing season coupled with the sun-exposed fruit helped develop rich tannins and let the complex flavors of blueberry, blackberry, dark roasted coffee and spice fully develop.

As with past vintages, the wine should age well over the next 8-10 years. So that the tannins will soften and the fruit shine, we recommend holding this wine until late 2010 before drinking. Should you want to drink the wine earlier, we suggest decanting 1/2 hour before serving.

Petite can be enjoyed with many foods and can make a meal more memorable. Our suggestions for pairing are ahi tuna, game birds (especially duck, goose, and quail), turkey, venison, lamb, pork and beef. If you are preparing gravy, try adding a tablespoon of wine to each cup of gravy to integrate the food with the wine (be sure to heat the gravy to cook off the alcohol).

Our past vintages of Petite Sirah has won many awards, example of such awards for the 2006 Vintage are: Best of Class at the Pacific Rim International Wine Competition, Double Gold at the Tasters Guild International, Best of Class Sonoma Appellation at the California State Fair.

• Harvested September 2007
• 3.6 tons/acre
• Aged in French and American oak barrel
• pH 3.61 at bottling
• Released spring 2009
• 600 Cases produced

Bottle Price $32.00

2007 Russian River Estate Syrah Released

At Christopher Creek we take special care in the management of our vineyard, and as always we hand-pick, hand-sort and hand–macerate our fruit to produce a distinct wine from “our” edge of the Russian River Valley vineyard. The 2007 Estate Bottled Syrah is no exception.

Produced in the Classical French Style from multiple clonal syrah grapes, grown at the winery site, our 2007 Estate Bottled Syrah displays black plum and red cherry with tastes of sweet chocolate, brown spice, minerals and slight subtle smoky notes. On the palate, the texture is smooth and ample with a very long complex finish created by the rich, yet soft tannins.

We would recommend bottle aging this wine for at least a year before drinking to let the tannins soften and the fruit fully develop. Properly cellared, we would expect the wine to age well for 5-7 years. Try our Syrah with Barbecued, marinated tri-tip roast, game birds, lamb, beef stew or spicy foods (Mexican, spicy Asian). Syrah is also a great food companion to chocolate.

• Harvested September 2007
• 3.6 tons/acre
• Aged 13 months in French oak barrels
• pH 3.68 at bottling
• Released spring 2009
• 490 cases produced

$27.00 per bottle

 

Upcoming Events

Summer Fest—
Saturday, August 1
11am to 4 pm

It’s vacation time and what better place to visit but the wine country and Christopher Creek on a warm, sunny Saturday, August 1st. Come try our BBQ Ranch Food and sample the 2008 Barrels of Reserve Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. We will also be releasing our 2007 Estate Reserve Syrah. Mark it on your calendar, details in the Summer Newsletter.

Fall Fest—
Saturday, October 24
11 am to 4 pm

Harvest is over, a chill in the air, the leaves have turned, it is time to visit Christopher Creek to select your holiday dinner wines and gifts. We will again have our dueling Zins (Russian River verses Dry Creek) as well as our hearty “Fall Fare.” There might also be a trick or treat or a goblin or two seen at the winery. Fall is one of the nicest times in the wine country, so we hope you will join us for a fun event.