Spring 2005

New Releases

2003 Petite Sirah Released

A Spring Cellar Club Selection and Three-Time Gold Medal Winner

Our Petite Sirah grapes received, as always, very special care during the 2003 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 cassis, blueberry, blackberry, coffee and spice fully evolve.

As with past vintages, the wine should age well over the next 7-to-10 years. So that the tannins will soften and the fruit shine, we recommend holding this wine until mid-2006 before drinking. Should you want to drink the wine earlier, we suggest decanting a half hour before serving. Petite Sirah can be enjoyed with many foods and can make a meal more memorable. Our suggestions for pairing are: Ahi tuna, game birds, 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).

• Harvested September 2003
• Released Spring 2005
• 2.2 tons/ acre
• Aged in French and American oak barrels
• 548 cases produced

2003 Russian River Estate Syrah Released

At Christopher Creek, we take special care in the management of our vineyards. 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. The 2003 Estate Syrah, a Spring Cellar Club Selection and three-time Silver Medal winner, is no exception.

Produced from grapes grown at the winery site, our 2003 Estate Syrah, rated “Exceptional” by Dan Berger, displays black plum and black cherry with tastes of cocoa, spice, minerals and 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. This wine should age well for 5-to-7 years.

Try our Syrah paired with BBQ marinated tri-tip roast, game birds, lamb, beef stew or spicy foods (chili, exotic Asian or Indian). Syrah is also a great food companion to chocolate. $23 per bottle.

• Harvested September 2003
• Released Spring 2005
• 3.2 tons/ acre
• Aged 13 months in French oak barrels
• 484 cases produced