Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
The Heminways planted two acres of petite sirah in red soils with gravelly loam at their highest vineyard, the elevation reaching 1,800 feet. Those vines were 20 years old in 2016, producing a brisk and sunny petite, expansive in its black-fruit richness. The tannins taste like chewy blueberry skins, their mineral density forming a tight, elastic web. That structure is saturated with generous fruit, mouthwatering now, and probably better ten years from now, when the tannins have relaxed.
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.
Nestled in the Vaca Mountains on the northeast side of Napa Valley, Chiles Valley is one of the cooler Napa subregions with vineyards at about 600 to 1,200 feet in elevation. The region is known for its Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon blanc.