Petite Sirah

The Vineyard:

Our 2009 Napa Valley Petite Sirah comes from two small vineyards located in Calistoga. The first, a family run vineyard called Citron, was planted to Petite Sirah in 2004. We work closely with the Citrons throughout the growing season to achieve the best quality fruit for Three Clicks. Our second Petite Sirah source comes from Gary Branham’s Obsidian vineyard. Gary is a well established grower and good friend. He farms his vineyard immaculately, making sure that every vine and every cluster is in perfect condition. We feel honored that both growers trust us with their fruit. We blend the two wines together in early January to achieve a complex and fruit forward expression of Petite Sirah. The 2009 growing season was ideal, with warm spring temperatures, a moderately warm summer and very low crop levels. The rocky soils in these vineyards and low water holding capacity yield a highly concentrated Petite Sirah that is rich in boysenberry and blueberry jam characteristics.

The Winemaking:

These small lots of Petite Sirah were hand picked, destemmed, and lightly crushed into bins. They were punched down by hand three times daily during the peak of fermentation. Color extraction and tannin were closely monitored to achieve a robust full bodied wine with balanced tannin. The wine was pressed off at dryness, and aged in 33% new French Oak barrels for a period of 15 months. We bottled the wine in January of 2011 with the goal of preserving the fresh fruit character of these vineyards. The wine was released in April of 2011 and bottled under screwcap. We feel this is the best closure for our wines and the wine should age and hold its fruit for a very long time.

Winemaker’s Comments:

Our wine has aromas of blackberry jam, lavender, blueberries, black currants, and clove. There are undertones of graham crackers, brown spices, and vanilla from the oak barrels we use to age this wine. The wine is full bodied with a long velvety tannins. It finishes with a beautiful interplay of black cherries, toasted oak, and cinnamon. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.