2005 Rusty Ridge Petite Sirah
Vineyards
This proprietary cuvé e hails from an old vine vineyard located on the eastern edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Head-trained and dry-farmed, this vineyard yields very minimally allowing for intensely-flavored fruit. This 50+ year-old planting meanders over a series of hills creating differing micro-climates which add to the complexity of the final blend. The first picking generally yields the fruit component of this wine; while the latter picking provides for the wine's backbone and finish. This wine reminds us why winemakers engage the four-wheel drive, and then hike through the worst poison oak to uncover these gems that have nearly been forgotten to the outside world.
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In the Winery
The grapes were handpicked in mid October of 2005. Yields were extremely low, 1.0-1.5 tons per acre. Arriving at the winery, we destemmed the grapes and fermented them in small lots, utilizing the punch down method for cap management and maximum flavor extraction. The “whole-berry” fermentation combined with the cooler temperatures maintained in small lot fermentation allow us to produce a rich Petite Sirah, with all of its abundant fruit and spice intact, yet with softer, more subdued tannins than typical of this California varietal. Following the wine's initial fermentation, we barreled the wine in a combination of French (40%) and air-dried American (60%) oak. The wine was bottled in mid-May of 2007.
