Pennywise

Select a varietal... Cabernet Sauvignon Petite Sirah

2005 Napa Valley Petite Sirah

This blockbuster inky purple Petite Sirah is rich with blueberry, boysenberry and cassis fruit, raw cinnamon and a hint of molasses. The fleshy mid palate is juicy and generous with ripe plum and a refined tobacco, sweet cherry essence, which finishes with sweet toffee and vanilla notes. With its rich tannin level and dry oak profile this wine is approachable now, but age well through the years.

This wine is well suited as a stand-alone wine, but it also works well with wild rice and cranberry stuffed pork roast or grilled tuna served alongside white beans and arugula. Great for dessert too, the fruit structure lends itself well to mixed berry cobbler or flourless chocolate cake.

Notes from Winemaker Richard Bruno
Petite Sirah does well in valley floor locations and thrive in warmer locations. I look for older vines when available and in the Napa Valley I source from both Yountville and Calistoga. Dry farmed fruit also reduces yields and provides the extraction I look for in a sturdy Petite. The thin, yet deep purple skins are responsible for the inky, cloth staining color; but it is these same skins which are thin and prone to bird damage, rain or any moisture at all, making Botrytis rot a sincere concern…I never quite relax until all of my Pets is in; comparatively, after that, harvest is a cinch.

After pressing the wine I put right into French oak dirty; I like a little earthy texture in this wine. After the requisite 22 months in oak it goes straight to the bottle bottling the massive, untamed, dark colored beast that we all love staining our teeth drinking. Petite Sirah; starts out hard but ends up easy.