“Not Too Petite” is a barrel auction lot collaboration between H•L•R Cellars and Carol Shelton Wines, who have married two completely different varieties that are not usually blended. Steve Heller of H•L•R Cellars contributed a lovely barrel of Petite Verdot from his Fountaingrove vineyard, and it was given some pizazz with Carol Shelton’s Petite Sirah from Dry Creek Valley. These two “Petite” grapes blended together have created a wine that is big, bold and spicy - not at all petite!

H•L•R Cellars and Carol Shelton Wines are small, family-owned wineries where the wines are all handmade by the owners/ winemakers. Both are charter members of the Fountaingrove District AVA association. H•L•R Cellars was established in 2012 by Steve and Joan Heller with a goal of producing estate grown and bottled wines that are delightful expressions of the vineyard’s outstanding mountain location. Carol experienced her first harvest in 1978 and after working with some big names in the industry in California and Australia, she started her own winery in 2000 and continues to produce award-winning wines.

After blending in February, the lot will age for an additional 4-6 months before bottling by hand. Expect spicy, peppery blackberry fruit layered onto softly herbal cherry pipe tobacco in the nose, a bit of vanilla-cocoa oak and bright berry fruit on the palate. It is structured well for ageability with a bit of youthful chewy tannins but will be fantastic with grilled ribeye soon!

HLR Cellars Estate Vineyard is located near the top of the ridge between Calistoga and Santa Rosa, on the Sonoma County side, which makes it fit into the Fountaingrove District AVA. At an elevation of 1300 feet, they are above the fogline, so the vines benefit from cool evening Pacific Ocean breezes and receive early morning sun for more even ripening. Owner/grower Steve Heller grows only red Bordeaux varieties, which he bottles both as single varietal wines, and as a few different Meritage-style blends.

Carol Shelton Wines is based in Santa Rosa and uses grapes from all over CA to produce small lots of highly awarded Zinfandels and Rhône varietal wines and blends. Her wines have been named to the annual Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of the World an amazing 4 times in the past 8 years. The Florence Petite Sirah is one of her most awarded wines—it grows in sandy soils on the Dry Creek Valley floor, which results in a super low pH/high acidity which brings out a wonderful jammy fruit profile.