A wine that’s been gaining a lot of popularity around the Seattle-area is the Petite Sirah Concannon wines out of California. Concannon was the first winery in the USA to produce a petite sirah as it’s been around since 1883 in the Livermore Valley area. Petite Sirah, as its known in the U.S. and Israel, is actually the Durif grape – it came about from cross a cross pollenation from Syrah and a Peloursin plant.
It shares a great deal of similarities of the Syrah grape which is one of the reaons it got its name of “Petite Sirah” – spicey and a bit jammy.
Technical Data:
- Appellation Central Coast
- Varietal Content 95% Petite Sirah, 3% Merlot, 1% Petite Verdot, 1% Mixed Reds
- Case Production 75,000
- Aging 12 months in French and American oak barrels
- Alcohol 13.9%
- Residual Sugar 0.31 g/100ml
- Titratable Acidity 0.58 g/100ml
- pH 3.61
- Release Date Spring 2008
Nose: Cranberry, asparagus tips, white pepper, bacon fat, and loganberry.
Taste: Huge cranberry component that’s been mixed with white pepper, rhubarb, blueberry and blackberry pie with crust. Decent finish and mouth-feel make this wine a pretty good value-play at the prices you can usually find it for in your local grocery store – around $12.
W.E.P. Rating: 90%
Winery website: www.concannonvineyard.com
