8 9


For


this


reason,


in addition to


our main


estate Petite Sirah blend, we also produce limited-release, vineyard-designated wines that showcase the unique qualities


of each site.


Along the way, it takes foresight and effort at the winemaking level to accentuate these qualities, and to ultimately produce Petite Sirahs that reflect the Vina Robles style. Toward that end, Nick is careful to pick the Petite Sirah grapes before they flirt with becoming overripe. “If the fruit seems almost ready to pick, I have learned that it is probably actually ready to pick. It usually works out better if I jump the gun by a few days. I have experimented with ultra-ripe fruit—it can produce an impressive wine, but rarely a truly delicious or harmonious one.” In the cellar, Nick ferments our Petite Sirah lots at warm temperatures for maximum extraction, then follows with extended maceration for another eight to ten days. “The extra skin contact helps soften the tannins, and it generates more elegance, and a more evolved character. Primary fruit flavors are a given with Petite Sirah, but you have to work to bring out nuance and balance.”


The aging regimen for our Petite Sirahs typically spans 16 to 18 months in French oak barrels. To craft the vineyard-designated wines, Nick selects special lots that exemplify the best expression of each site. Because these lots tend to exhibit more intensity, they can accommodate a higher percentage of new oak. Thus, while our main Petite Sirah is aged in 30 percent new oak on average, the vineyard-designated wines are matured in 50 percent new oak.


While each of our Petite Sirah bottlings offers its own unique attributes, they are all ultimately united by a firm stylistic vision: “We don’t want our Petite Sirahs to taste monolithic and cumbersome,” Nick says. “We want them to offer nuance, balance and structure.”


Nick de Luca


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