About this WINE
Spellbound Wines
Petite Sirah / Durif
Petite Sirah (Durif) is a red wine grape variety. In the Americas it is known as Petite Sirah while in the rest of the world i is described as Durif. It is named after Dr. Francois Durif who discovered it in 1880 in Rhone. This new grape resulted from a cross of Syrah pollen germinating a Peloursin vine.
It is primarily grown in Australia ( esp. in Riverina and Riverland), California (Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa, Monterey and San Joaquin County), Yakima River Valley (Washington ), Ontario's Niagara Peninsula France, and Israel.
High tannins and acidity are signature characteristics of Petite Sirah and imbue it with great ageing potential. Historically it was used as a blending element to add body and structure to weaker wines. The flavour profile includes blackberry, chocolate and black pepper notes with subtler licorice and herbal overtones. Petite Sirah has recently experienced a revival, both in serious blends and bottled as a single or as the main variety.
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Description
Petite Sirah may not immediately spring to mind when one thinks of Californian wine, but it has a long and illustrious history in the Golden State. Mindful of the variety’s pedigree, winemaker Rob Mondavi Jr. set out to create an easy-drinking wine with intense flavour and sumptuous texture. He was abetted by the rich soils of the Lodi and Central regions, where Petite Sirah berries often grow significantly larger than they do elsewhere. Larger berries mean a higher juice-to-skin ratio, which is accentuated here by a relatively short fermentation period. The result is a wine with deliberately low tannin but an abundance of red fruit flavours, giving way to a long finish with a strong hint of liquorice.
Will Heslop - Wine Buying
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