The Back Roads – Petite Sirah 2019

Nickname : The Fat Butcher

In stock

This is a big meaty wine, made for dark winters nights and romantic fireplaces.

A deep purple in colour makes cleaning the bottling equipment a real bitch. Often used in blends to give more colour and depth.

Its French name for this grape is Durif. Americans have long referred to it as Petite Sirah, which is strange as it is anything but Petite and the Sirah is spelt incorrectly.

For people who like biog bold wines with plenty of body and oomph.

Best paired with Purple Rain by Prince

TECHNICAL STUFF

Wine:                             The Back Roads Petite Sirah 2019

Wine of Origin:             100% Franschhoek “Matoppie”

Bottling date:               17 November 2022

Production:                  2400 x 750ml

Technical Analysis:

Alcohol             Extract              Ph        TA        VA        FSO2    TSO2    RS

14.37 %vol.       29.9 g/l             3.37     6.1 g/l  0.71 g/l 37mg/l 95mg/l 2.4g/l

Source of Grapes:

The fruit for our Back Roads Petite Sirah 2019 was selected from a single vineyard growing on the slopes of “Matoppie” in the Franschhoek Valley. The vineyard sits on a North- East facing slope and grows in beautiful decomposed Table Mountain sandstone.

Harvest dates: 12 March 2019

Winemaking:

All our fruit is hand-picked and chilled in our cold room overnight. The following day they are destemmed and transferred to 500kg fermentation bins or barrels for fermentation. We do not crush our berries, and 25% whole bunches are added to each ferment. 30mg/l SO2 is added at this stage, and no other chemical additions (acid, enzymes or tannins) are made. The grape must is allowed to macerate for 3-4 days before fermentation starts spontaneously. Fermentation lasts for 7-12 days at a maximum of 28°C. To extract colour, flavour and tannin from the grape skins, the must is mixed by hand 2-3 times daily according to extract and tannin development. A short postferment maceration is allowed to soften and focus tannins. At this stage, the wine is drained, the skins pressed and transferred directly to the barrel for malolactic fermentation and maturation. After malolactic fermentation, the wine receives a racking to remove solids and SO2 addition before being laid down for 24 months of maturation in French oak barrels. At 18 months, the final blend was assembled and matured for six months before bottling. The wine received a light filtration before bottling; decanting is recommended within the first 3-5 years.

Maturation: 24 months in used (5-8year old) French oak barrels.

Tasting note:

This is our 7th vintage of the “Matoppie” Petite Sirah. This wine is not about elegance or finesse; it’s about POWER. The wine has an ink-like colour; the nose is opulent with blackberries, exotic spices and liquorice. The palate shows intense dark chocolate, pepper, and cassis flavours with a healthy dose of tannins and bright acidity. Decanting recommended.

CHEERS!

Download Tasting Note