Tasting Notes

La Petite Sirah 2010 has an inky color, a nose of blackberry fruit with spicy notes, a creamy mid pallet with big tannins, and a long red fruit and licorice finish. The wine would pair well with many meat dishes and cheeses.

Vineyard Notes

The fruit of La Petit Sirah comes from the Coquerel Wines estate vineyard. This vineyard was initially purchased in 2007 and 2010 is the third vintage. Three years of significant drought and unusual weather have indeed influenced this vintage. The year began with a late spring that included rain and record low temperatures. Consequently, the bud break was also late. The summer was cold with foggy mornings and it was the second coldest July in fifty years. It cannot be denied that 2010 is an extremely memorable vintage. Due to high humidity, we dealt with mildew and Botrytis on flowers and then on the fruit clusters. Veraison occurred at the end of July. Luckily, this vineyard of Petite Sirah is planted in well-draining soil, which allows the vines to accomplish a water deficit early in the season around veraison. This deficit is necessary to produce quality red fruit: small berries and phenolic compounds such as tannin and color.

Winemaker Notes

The fruit was harvested October 23, 2010. These fruits were gently de-stemmed, cold macerated and fermented in a one-ton bin. They were also punched down over the course of fermentation. The wine was then pressed into barrels for malolactic fermentation and lastly aged 18 months in French oak. The wine was bottled at the end of June 2011.