Grapes & Wines: A comprehensive guide to varieties and flavours by Oz Clarke Margaret Rand

Author:Oz Clarke, Margaret Rand
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781909815520
Publisher: Perseus Books, LLC
Published: 2015-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

PETITE SIRAH

This grape is sometimes wrongly, and confusingly, spelled Petite Syrah – confusingly because some growers in the Rhône Valley refer to a small-berried version of their (true) Syrah as Petite Syrah.

Well, Petite Sirah is not real Syrah. It is, in fact, a cross between a little grown French vine called Peloursin and Syrah, but the name of Petite Sirah has become attached to several different grape varieties all of which have been traditionally planted together in California, which is where it, or they, are mostly found today.

Petite Sirah is the same grape as Durif (see here), though it is sometimes confused with Peloursin. Petite Sirah produces tannic wines which are even darker in colour than those of true Syrah; they have a savoury, almost meaty character and dense blackberry fruit. Its powerful style has long made it a useful blending wine, especially for Zinfandel: Paul Draper of Ridge Vineyards swears by an admixture of 10 to 15 per cent of Petite Sirah in his Zinfandels.

It can also be made as a varietal if the powerful tannins are handled well: it is intense and usually rustic, but good examples can be surprisingly supple and ageworthy, lasting up to 20 years in bottle. It is at its best in Sonoma and Mendocino, where unirrigated vineyards of often very old vines produce wines of considerable depth, backbone and brutal power. Not only is the area under vine on the increase, with Lodi and Paso Robles showing interest, but the wine is becoming a bit of a cult in California: its fan club is called – wait for it – PS I Love You.

Mexico is another source of good Petite Sirah; Argentina and Brazil also have some. In Australia, it is generally called Durif. Best producers: (Mexico) L A Cetto; (USA) David Bruce, Carmen, De Loach, Edmeades, Fetzer, Fife, Foppiano, Frick, La Jota, Parducci, Ravenswood, Ridge, Rockland, Stags’ Leap Winery, Sean Thackray, Turley.

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