Ravenswood Winery Petite Sirah |
2004 Petite Sirah Sonoma County
Petite Sirah's story is a heartwarmer in more ways than one. Brought to California from France in the nineteenth century, it was planted alongside Zinfandel to lend oomph to that varietal. Somehow, in the supportive process, its own merits got eclipsed; not until the 1990s did scientists discover it's the genetic child of the noble Syrah. Since at that point Ravenswood had been working with old vineyards for 25 years, however, we were already aware of the power and integrity that this grape shows when vinified alone. Today the only remaining confusion comes from calling such a big, rich, thick, chewy, plummy, inky, peppery wine "petite." |