2001 Petite Sirah

Russian River Valley

Our Estate Grown Petite Sirah grapes received, as always, very special care during the 2001 growing season. We are fortunate to have several blocks of Petite Sirah each with varying age, elevation and sun exposure. We hand-thinned the crop and did extensive deleafing to expose the fruit, which maximizes pigment in the berry’s skin. All this work paid off and allowed us to get concentrated and healthy fruit. Looking back, the long growing season turned into an advantage and let the complex flavors of cassis, blackberry, coffee and spice fully develop. As with past vintages, the wine is big, dense and chewy with long-lasting berry flavors. Our Petites generally age well over 7-to-10 years. We would recommend bottle aging of at least a year before drinking.

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 warm the gravy to cook off the alcohol).

Harvested October 2002
Bottled November 2002
Released March 2003
About 3 tons per acre
Aged 13 months in American oak barrels
550 cases produced

2001 Vintage

• Gold Medal—San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, January 2003
• Bronze Medal—Grand Harvest Awards, February 2003

2000 Vintage

• Silver Medal—San Francisco Chronicle, California Wine Tasting, January 2002
• Bronze Medal—Pacific Rim International Wine Competition, April 2002