Winemaker Notes
Aromas of dense blackberry fruit, plum, and fig paste accompany bay leaf, black licorice, roasted coffee, and toasty oak notes. A thick, textural wine, the palate is also super fresh and energetic, showing more blackberry, dried plum, black pepper, and dark chocolate notes. Medium to full bodied, it brings an elegance to match the typical power of Petite Sirah, and its limestone-driven acidity keeps the wine perky and enjoyable to drink.
Blend: 85% Petit Sirah, 15% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of 85% Petit Sirah and 15% Syrah, the 2021 Petite Sirah showed brilliantly, with a pure, layered, powerful style that stays nicely balanced. Blackberries, violets, chocolate, asphalt, and pepper are just some of its nuances, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a great mid-palate and ripe tannins. Barrel Sample: 93-95
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James Suckling
This petite sirah is loaded with blackberries, currants, dark cherries and sweet spices on the nose, following through to a full body with fine, firm tannins. Structured palate, with a compact core of dark berries and currants and a vibrant arsenal of spices. Serious and well-balanced, with a focused finish with excellent length.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Petite Sirah opens with an immensely black-fruited, rich, opulent and polished nose. The suave, seamless palate centers around a similarly dark-fruited structure, concluding with a layered, long finish framed with solid balancing acidity and grippy tannins.
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Vinous
The 2021 Petite Sirah is darkly floral, with a whiff of sage and rosemary giving way to lavender, a dusting of cocoa and crushed blackberries. This is seamlessly silky in feel with vibrant acidity and citrus-laced black fruits. It's staining and long, finishing with a chewy sensation and grippy tannins yet remaining remarkably fresh, especially for the variety. That said, time is on our side here.
With its deep color, firm tannins and bold flavors, there is nothing petite about Petite Sirah. The variety, originally known as Durif in the Rhône, took on its more popular moniker after being imported to California in the early 1880s. Quintessentially recognized today as a grape of the Golden State, Petite Sirah works well blended with Zinfandel and finds success as a single varietal wine in the state’s warmer districts. Somm Secret—Petite Sirah is not a smaller version of Syrah but it is an offspring of Syrah and the now nearly extinct French Alpine variety called Peloursin.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.