Petite Sirah has a deep color and full-bodied flavors of black fruit plus big tannins.
Back in 2019 I wrote about the Petite Sirah grape in my blog. I have been drinking a few glasses of it lately and had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. So, I decided to write about the grape again to remind everyone to try it, soon.
The Petite Sirah (“Peh-teet-sear-ah”) grape was first found growing in France in the mid-1880s. I like Petite Sirah for its deep color and full-bodied flavors of black fruit and big tannins.
The grape is grown in Chile, Mexico, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, Israel and in the United States. In the U.S., it is now mainly grown in California. It is a rare grape with less than 10,000 acres grown worldwide.
The grape was originally known as Durif in France and was developed by botanist Francois Durif. In his nursery he had some plantings of both Peloursin and Syrah. It is believed that these two grapes cross pollinated and this was the Durif grape now known as Petite Sirah.
Most European wines are labeled Syrah, while Australian wines are labeled Shiraz. Petite Sirah is a different grape than Syrah or Shiraz. Some winemakers say people either love Petite Sirah or they dislike it. I really like Petite Sirah for its spicy and peppery taste. I use the grape as a blending grape in my red blends. I love to use it for its color and its bold intensity. My 2015 Adler’s Blend was 30% Petite Sirah.
When drinking Petite Sirah, I suggest you decant the wine for two to three hours prior to serving it. Petite Sirah has a high level of tannins and is a perfect wine to decant. I also suggest you serve the wine a little cooler than some other red wines. A temperature of 65 degrees will allow the wine to produce lots of floral and mineral aromas, along with a big plate of big and bold fruits.
Petite Sirah wines generally will age seven years or so. Some California Petite Sirah will age 10-20 years if they are well balanced.
As always, I appreciate your support of our wine blog and encourage you to share it with family and friends. If you care to share your comments on this blog posting or other topics, please do so in the comments section below.
Until next week,
Cheers
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