New Releases

2005 Estate Petite Sirah

Our Estate Grown Russian River Reserve Petite Sirah has a new label to differentiate it from our Non Estate Grown Petite Sirah. We have also designated the Estate Grown as a Reserve since the grapes are special and the wine produced has won over 50 Silver and Gold Medals during the past 10 years.

Our Estate Grown Petite Sirah grapes received, as always, very special care during the 2005 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 develop. As with past vintages, this yummy-jammy 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 early 2008 before drinking. Should you want to drink the wine earlier, we suggest decanting 1/2 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 (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).

• Harvested September 2005
• 2.5 tons/acre
• Aged in French and American Oak Barrels
• Released Spring 2007
• 1096 Cases Produced
• Spring Cellar Club Selection
• $30.00/bottle (Cellar Club Members $24.00)

Order now online or call 707-431-8243.

2005 Dry Creek Zinfandel

The 2005 Dry Creek Zinfandel is the eighth vintage for Christopher Creek Winery. We produced the wine by fermenting the grapes in small, open top tanks with 2 punch downs daily to every “pump over.” After 2 weeks, the wine was transferred to a mixture of 65% American oak and 35% French oak barrels. Classical Dry Creek Zin in style, the wine exhibits a medium-dark ruby hue, with forward strawberry and raspberry jammy fruit, hints of vanilla, white pepper, spice and a mouth feel that lingers. While still quite young, this intense, perfectly balanced and bright wine is remarkably approachable with medium tannins and an aging potential of about 3-4 years. This wine pairs with risotto, pasta, turkey, duck, lamb and chicken.

• Harvested September 2005
• 3 tons/acre
• Aged in French and American oak barrels
• 457 cases produced
• Released January 2007
• $26.00 bottle price (Cellar Club Members $20.80.

2005 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 2005 Estate Bottled Syrah is no exception.

Produced in the Classical French Style from multiple clone grapes, grown at the winery site, our 2005 Estate Bottled Syrah 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 recommend 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 6-8 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 2005
• 3.4 tons/acre
• Aged 13 months in French Oak Barrels
• Released Spring 2007
• 631 Cases Produced
• $25.00 per bottle ($20.00 For Cellar Club Members)
• Spring Cellar Club Selection