Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This smells floral and feels graphite-firm at the core; its beetroot and black tea flavors seem to emerge from and last in the tannins. It’s not a warm, sweet or particularly welcoming wine at this stage, but it’s balanced to age. Ten years or more in the cellar will refine its gripping structure and bring out the rich, sumptuous texture of well-aged petite sirah.
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Wine Enthusiast
Parducci has been making excellent Petite Sirah like this for decades. Rich oak and potent fruit flavors combine for attention in this densely textured, full-bodied wine. It tightly packs in the blackberry and dark chocolate flavors with firm tannins, while keeping good balance despite its size. Best to drink after 2020. CELLAR SELECTION
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.
A large and diverse appellation within California’s North Coast AVA, Mendocino is home to several smaller sub-regions—most notably the Anderson Valley. This scenic region, with rolling hills covered in redwood forests as well as vineyards, is one of the world’s top producers of certified organically-grown grapes. Due to wide geographical and climatic variation, a vast array of wine styles can be found here.