Rhone varietals thrive on the site of bonded winery #118, one of the earliest in Napa Valley.
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Vineyard
In its very own valley, there is a vineyard east of Calistoga with history going back to pre-prohibition. Rumors of moonshining during prohibition are in the record books, and the surviving old vines of Petite Sirah are infamous. Palisades Vineyard (formerly Carver Sutro) is completely isolated from the rest of Napa Valley. The grapes obviously like it there or they wouldn’t have survived as long as they have. The new owners are fanatical (in all the right ways) about the farming of this gorgeous, historic site.
“I may be crazy for farming this way, but I did not want to just do what everyone else is doing. This unique property doesn’t speak to that.”
—Proprietor, Felicia Woytak
Winemaking
Our 2019 Petite Sirah was fully destemmed then fermented in a single open top tank. The fruit is aged in used French oak barrels as there is enough fruit tannin there without adding on barrel tannin. The used oak allows the beautiful old vine fruit to be able to fully express itself. Matured for 20 months in barrel, before bottling without fining or filtration.
Winemaker’s Tasting Notes
Our 2019 Palisades immediately shows the classic Petite Sirah profile of black fruits, smoked meats and dark spices. The palate shows the approachability and plushness of the 2019 vintage, with structure and lifted acidity that leads to an amazingly long finish. While drinking beautifully now, it will continue to age and evolve for the next two decades.
Vintage
After a good wet spring, the 2019 growing season fell into its typical dry and sunny summer, unmarked by any extremes. Consistent temps helped to preserve freshness and finesse in the fruit with abundant hang time teasing out great color, structure and soft tannins. The fruit set was lighter than 2018, clusters tight and concentrated. 2019 was a bit reserved in barrel, but once in bottle showed very precocious, more so than 2018. This is a vintage that is going to make Napa Valley wine lovers very happy. An outstanding Napa Valley vintage with very accessible wines that will age well for decades.