2003 Petite Sirah
Russian River Valley
Estate Bottled.
Complex tastes of blackberry and cassis fruits with hints of coffee and spice.

2003 Petite Sirah

Russian River Valley
Estate Bottled

Our Estate Grown Petite Sirah grapes received, as usual, very special care during the 2003 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. The favorable growing season coupled with sun-exposed fruit helped develop rich tannins and let the complex flavors of cassis, blackberry, coffee and spice fully develop. 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 will 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 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 September 2003
Released spring 2005
2.2 tons per acre
Aged in French and American oak barrels
548 cases produced

2003 Vintage

Gold Medal—Grand Harvest Awards (Top 6% of all wines tasted), March 2005
Gold Medal—San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, February 2005
Gold Medal—Jerry Mead's New World Wine Competition, April 2005
Silver Medal—North of the Gate Wine Competition, April 2005

2002 Vintage

Gold Medal/Best of Class—Jerry Mead's New World International Wine Competition, March 2004
Silver Medal—Grand Harvest Awards, February 2004
Silver Medal— Pacific Rim International Wine Competition, April 2004
Exceptional Rating—Dan Berger's Vintage Experience, August 5, 2004

2001 Vintage

Gold Medal—Grand Harvest Awards, Sonoma, February 2003
Gold Medal—Tasters Guild International Wine Competition, May 2003
Silver Medal—The San Francisco Chronicle Northern California Wine Competition, February 2003
Silver Medal—Jerry Mead’s New World Wine Competition, March 2003

2000 Vintage

Silver Medal—Taster’s Guild International Wine Competition, May 2002
Silver Medal—New World International Wine Competition, June 2002
Silver Medal—Long Beach Grand Cru, July 2002

1999 Vintage

Gold and Best of Class—The San Francisco Chronicle Northern California Wine Competition, February 2001
Gold and Chairman’s Award—Riverside International Wine Competition, May 2001
About our 1999 Petite Sirah Vintage, Dan Berger in the Dan Berger’s Vintage Experiences, (707-571-1200), Exceptional Wine Column, wrote the following: "Huge fruit with a meaty, faint underbrush note. Despite the massive nature of this wine, it still retains a bit of grace and should age at least a decade. I also liked the winery’s excellent 1999 Syrah."

1998 Vintage

Gold and Best of Class—Pacific Rim International Wine Competition, 2000 (second year)