2006 Bismark Mountain Petite Sirah

Massive but round tannins and mouth filling fruit with moderate acidity.

$50.00 per bottle

The Vineyard
Our Bismark Mountain Ranch is high above the City of Sonoma and the San Pablo Bay. Here on the Southwestern flanks of the Mayacamas Mountains we farm 60 acres of Bordeaux Reds, Zinfandel and Syrah amid outcroppings of Rhyolite. We began planting in 1991 and continue to fine tune our mix of cultivars to this day. This is steep ground; shared with Creosote bush, Digger pine, coyote and mountain lion. Topographically it is similar to the Douro. It is also windy and surprisingly cool. Bismark grudgingly produces grapes with an intense, deeply concentrated flavor. Bismark’s unique terroir is both fierce and alluring. In 2000 we grafted 746 vines to Petite Sirah which I had selected from The Eagle point Ranch in Mendocino County. This is small sub-block is vertically trained and planted 9 by 5 on 1103 P.

Vintage Notes
Spring of 2006 was sodden, and bloom was late but very successful. July began cool but became blistering, exceeding 100° F for several days. August was cool, allowing varietal character to develop. Flavors began to intensify as September progressed, and we began harvesting on September 27th at 26.0 brix.

Tasting Notes
Massive but round tannins and mouth filling fruit with moderate acidity.

Varietals: 75% Petite Sirah, 25% Zinfandel Alcohol: 14.8% pH: 3.73 TA: 0.59 g/100 mL Residual Sugar: 0.183% Harvest Date: 9/27/06 Oak Types: 20% new American, 20% new French, balance used