Petite Sirah is a wine grape shrouded in mystery for decades. The veil that has surrounded this variety has finally (mostly) been lifted, and I’ll get to the current scholarship below, but first there’s zero mystery when it comes to this grape's relationship to the iconic Foppiano estate in the Russian River Valley. Put simply, the Foppiano clan was one of the first to bottle and label a single variety Petite Sirah in California, and as today’s profound library bottle from 1993 attests, they are among the most masterful producers of this “mystery” grape. Indeed, it’s so rare to try Petite Sirah with this age that we honestly didn’t really know what to expect, but suffice it to say it far, far surpassed our expectations. Spicy, earthy, and boasting an array of beguiling aromatics, this is one of the most revelatory Northern California wines I’ve had in years. And given all that, it is truly a bargain.
So, what is the story with Petite Sirah? This grape was introduced to California back in 1884, however because of its close proximity–both in name and appearance–to actual Syrah there has been confusion and mystery surrounding it for decades. Current DNA studies, as well as historical scholarship have finally confirmed that the vast majority of Petite Sirah in California (as well as Israel where it is also popular) is actually Durif. This hybrid variety was created in the mid 19th Century by French botanist François Durif, and is a cross between Peloursin and (unsurprisingly) Syrah. “Petite” is a reference to the very small berries this vine produces. And just to make things more confusing, the Serine clone of Syrah that is highly coveted in the Northern Rhône is often called “Petite Syrah!”
Despite all the confusion on origin stories, there is no doubt that Petite Sirah has been an important blending grape in California for well over a century. However bottling it as a single variety is still relatively new and uncommon. One of the pioneers in this trend was the historic Foppiano estate, which celebrated its 125th anniversary a few years ago. This is one of the oldest continuously operated family wineries in California, and it was Louis J. Foppiano who introduced the first varietally labeled Petite Sirah in 1967, as well as drawing the original AVA map for the Russian River Valley in 1983, and holding the first official Petite Sirah symposium in 2002. Suffice it to say, if there’s an estate that could turn this grape into a wine worthy of 30 plus years in the cellar it is Foppiano!
And that is exactly where this 1993 has been resting since it was bottled, in the Foppiano cellars. The fruit for this wine was sourced primarily from their oldest vines of Petite Sirah, planted in 1972, and was gently crushed before aging for two years in a combination of French and American oak barrels, both new and used. To serve this historic gem I would recommend a cellar temperature of about 60 degrees, and a very gentle decant off any sediment. We were all surprised by how much it opened up in a decanter over a period of a couple hours. The nose leads with concentrated red and black fruits–dried blueberries, plum, cherry liqueur–but that is quickly overtaken by a wave of dark chocolate, cocoa powder, and vanilla bean which then gives way to earthy mushrooms and smoked meat. It’s a wonderfully complex and profound wine, and the price is insanely reasonable given the aging, provenance, and storied history behind this wine. There’s not much, don’t miss it.
