Stags Leap Napa Valley Petite Sirah

With its rich core of blueberries, blackberry, lavender, and pepper spice, the Napa Valley Petite Sirah displays the plush elegance and finesse for which our Petite Sirahs are known. The generous blackberry and black raspberry flavors remain powerful, yet are supported by lovely cinnamon, clove, and cedar baking spice notes from the oak aging. There is beautiful freshness and mouthwatering acidity which runs throughout the wine, making it unbelievably soft with restrained tannins and a generous lengthy finish. This is an inviting wine that encourages you to enjoy it now but has the complexity to age for many years to come.

Winemaking: Continuing the same time-honored techniques that have made Petite Sirah one of our winery's staples, Winemaker Christophe Paubert practiced simple and traditional methods to show the uniqueness of the Petite Sirah fruit. Avoiding over-extraction, the wine went through a relatively short maceration period (nine to 12 days on average) that included fermentation, and two of these lots were co-fermented with Viognier to reinforce the floral character of the Petite Sirah. The wine aged for 12 months in American oak barrels (25% new), allowing the spiciness of the oak to complement the natural spice character of the varietal. The final blend included small amounts of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre to bring further complexity to the finished wine.