2004 Bell Wine Cellars Petite Sirah (Special Offers) -- Bell Wine Cellars Shopping Cart -- Sirah Petite Cellars Wine Bell 2004

<H1>2004 Bell Wine Cellars Petite Sirah -- Bell Wine Cellars Shopping Cart</H1> $36.00 -- 2004 Bell Wine Cellars Petite Sirah <IMG SRC="https://store.nexternal.com/bellwine/images/petite%20sirah.gif" WIDTH=150 ALIGN=right ALT="2004 Bell Wine Cellars Petite Sirah" NAME="2004 Bell Wine Cellars Petite Sirah" BORDER=0 HSPACE=10> Background There is nothing petite about Petite Sirah. This black grape, grown throughout the warmer regions of California, produces teeth-staining, brawny wines with dark berry and plum fruit, a grind of spice (usually black pepper) and sturdy tannins. Once considered a rustic wine, California Petite Sirah has become softer and more polished in recent years, as winemakers have learned to tame the tannins and astringency with various techniques in the vineyard and cellar. Petite Sirah -- intentionally misspelled "Petite Syrah" by some producers -- is the same as Durif, a workhorse grape of southern France. Petite Sirah is also related to "regular" Syrah; Syrah is Petite's father, Peloursin the mother. Despite their common genes, Petite Sirah and Syrah are very different wines -- the "petite" son has more muscles and hair on his chest than Dad. – Source: Linda Murphy, San Francisco Chronicle, January 2006 Vinification Our Petite Sirah grapes are grown on our neighbor’s vineyard in Yountville approximately one mile south of the Yountville Hills. Grapes were crushed directly to small open top fermentors and punched down several times a day to maximize flavor and color extraction. The wine was pressed to barrel where it underwent malo-lactic fermentation. The wine was aged in 68% new French and American oak barrels for 18 months. The wine was not fined and was gently filtered before bottling. The resulting wine received nine months of bottle age prior to release. Vintage Notes The 2004 vintage yielded fruit bearing the imprint of an early spring, a slow and steady ripening period that ended with a fast, hot finish several weeks ahead of traditional harvest timelines. Warm, consistent summer weather was bracketed by an early spring bud break, and several late summer hot spells, creating growing conditions that allowed for one of the earliest harvests in almost a decade. Overall yields were lower than expected and the resulting wines show inky color, ripe fruit flavors and great natural acidity. Tasting Notes The cool Yountville microclimate yields a wine deep in color with black pepper and herb notes on the nose, with ripe flavors of currants and plums, delivering luscious, jammy fruit flavors on the palate. These rich fruit flavors combine with sweet, toasty oak and firm tannins to make this a rich and complex wine that can develop for years to come. Try this wine with rich meat dishes of lamb, pork or game and their hearty sauces. Technical Analysis: Varietal: Petite sirah, 100% Source: Yountville, Napa Valley Harvest Sugar 26.5 Brix Harvest Acid 0.73 gm/100ml Total Acid 0.65 gm/100ml pH 3.72 Alcohol 14.5% Aging 18 months in oak, 50% French, 68% new Bottle Date June 2006 Production 75 cases <A HREF="http://www.nexternal.com/bellwine" TITLE="Bell Wine Cellars Products">Bell Wine Cellars Products</A> <A HREF="http://bellwine.com">Bell Wine Cellars</A> Bell Wine Cellars <A HREF="http://www.nexternal.com" TITLE="ecommerce software">ecommerce software</A> powered by Nexternal