
Petite Sirah is also called Durif and is a black skinned red wine grape that was originally from the Rhone region of France in the 1870’s. A cross between the Rhone variety, Peloursin and the popular Syrah, Petite Sirah was named after its creator French nurseryman Dr. Francois Durif. Petite Sirah was created in order to prevent Syrah from mildew. The tight clusters got rid of the mildew, but it made them susceptible to grey rot due to the humid Rhone region. Petite Sirah does well in the warm and dry climate in California as long as the rains are not heavy or frequent. Petite Syrah features intense tannins and un-jammy flavors. Petite Sirah tones down wines that are jammy, brown sugary and raisiny on their own. Petite Sirah produces dark wines that are quite inky and can actually stain your good wine glasses. With the grapes being so small, the skin to juice ratio is very high meaning the wines are high in tannins. Petite Sirah grapes are delicious on their own, but are also quite wonderful when they are blended with Zinfandel or Cabernet. Wine produced from Petite Sirah is relatively acidic with a firm mouth feel and texture. The bouquet has black pepper and herbal overtones with flavors of blueberries, plums, and black fruit.
Sourced from premier California winegrowing regions, Conundrum Red features dark red varietals including Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon. It is serious yet lighthearted, complex and approachable. With lavish fruit flavors and baking chocolate, this wine has smooth tannins that provide a distinctive, soft character. Be daring and drink slightly chilled to enhance the fruit profile and enjoy any time of year.
Orin Swift Machete is made from Petite Sirah, Syrah and Grenache.
Machete is one of Dave Phinney’s signature Orin Swift reds — a dark, dense California blend led by Petite Sirah, with Syrah and Grenache, aged in French oak. Brooding and plush, it layers black fruit, cracked pepper, cigar box, and dark chocolate, carrying the swagger and striking artwork that made Orin Swift a cult name.
Winery Info: Orin Swift Cellars was founded by Dave Phinney in St. Helena, Napa Valley, in 1998. Built on boldly sourced fruit from across California and instantly recognizable, provocative label art, Orin Swift has become one of the most talked-about names in modern American wine.
Review:
The 2020 ‘Machete’ is a proprietary blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah and Grenache that was stored in 34% new French oak for 14 months before bottling. A soft texture greets you as green peppercorns greet you alongside black currant jelly, cigar ash and dark chocolate shavings with kirsch cordial notes. Considering the vintage, this is a really good effort.
–Owen Bargreen, 92 Points
Some wines are made for casual occasions that convey not a single place and time, but an ethos unto itself. This is where the idea of THREADCOUNT was born. Throughout California's most noteworthy coastal growing regions, vines from young to old, we were able to select from a broad array of terroirs giving us the luxury of blending a red that defies the norms.
As THREADCOUNT is commonly known, it is the sum of the threads and weft of a fabric, denoting its texture. With this red wine, we have taken an approach that takes the sum of the phenols against the natural acidity to create the most balanced and enjoyable red wine. This inaugural blend is handcrafted by Joe Wagner, a fifth-generation Napa Valley winemaker with a dedicated passion for farming grapes and making luxury wine.
Joe began in the wine business in 2001 at age nineteen. His passion and natural talent for winemaking quickly became apparent after he started his own award-winning single vineyard Pinot Noir label, Belle Glos. Joe went on to create Napa Valley Quilt which quickly became a top 10 luxury wine in just five vintages. THREADCOUNT is an extension of the Quilt winemaking style translated for more casual occasions.
WINEMAKER NOTES The grapes were harvested early in the morning so the fruit would arrive at the winery while still cool to preserve the vineyard-fresh flavors. Within this wine, we blend a combination of Zinfandel, Syrah, Petit Sirah and Merlot from Mendocino, Sonoma and Lodi. After de-stemming the berries, the fruit was cryo-extracted and then cold-soaked to soften the skins and allow for ideal extraction. During fermentation, punch-downs and pump-overs were performed in a combination of closed and open-top stainless steel fermenters in order to extract color and tannins; during this process, temperatures were kept low to build mouthfeel and maximize flavors. Finally, the wines are aged in 50% new French oak for between 12-16 months. After the wine underwent malolactic fermentation, it was racked every 6 months before the final blend was complete.
TASTING NOTES
COLOR: Dark cherry with scarlet red highlights.
AROMA: Complex aromas of black raspberry, milk chocolate, and soft hints of sweet cedar. PALATE: Bold flavors of boysenberry pie, sugar cookie, and toffee lead to subtle notes of strawberry jam and baking spice. The balanced and complex tannin structure creates a long-lasting enjoyable finish. FOOD PAIRING: Tri-tip crostini, pork ribs with mashed potatoes, or pasta with a bolognese sauce.
La Despensa Boutique Sangiovese is made from 100 percent Sangiovese.
There's really very little Sangiovese in Chile. It was an educated gamble to plant this variety in La Despensa little corner of Colchagua and the team is thrilled with the results.
This Sangiovese is a fresh and fruity take on a classic Italian variety, but with the typical savoury notes of tomato and cherry. Perfect for early drinking, but will improve for many years to come.
Ancien Pinot Noir Russian River Jouissance is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Jouissance is sourced from the single vineyard established and farmed by Mark Lingenfelder at his home estate. Mark’s decades of experience as a vineyard manager and consulting viticulturalist have provided him the depth of experience to reach the pinnacle at his own property. Having worked with storied wineries over the years, we are grateful our paths have crossed enabling us to work with him for our Russian River designate. He tends the vines himself while relying on neighbor Lee Martinelli to provide additional help at the peak times. We work with a mix of Pommard and Dijon 667 vines from his oldest and youngest blocks – aged wisdom combines with youthful vigor!
The wine is fermented in one-ton, open-top tanks after filling by gravity. A warm fermentation with a combination of native and isolated Burgundian yeasts produces focused flavor extraction, complemented with traditional punch-downs by hand. It is aged entirely in Francois Freres cooperage, 40% new, and racked once, gently, prior to bottling – with grapes, must, and wine moved by gravity to barrel and under inert gas through racking and bottling.
Bright fruit notes dominate the aromas with bright cherry, plum, and boysenberry underlaid by allspice and clove. On the palate the wine is liquid velvet, its silkiness segueing into a burst of fruit and spice that rides high on the palate while gradually opening to deeper berry, tea, and baking spices.