2018 Carol Shelton - Florence Reserve Petite Sirah Dry Creek Valley (750ml)

Carol Shelton has been called the most awarded winemaker in America. She studied enology at UC Davis and worked her first harvest in 1978. In 1981 she joined Windsor Vineyards and spent 19 years there, making dozens of wines every vintage and finding her favorite in Zinfandel. In 2000 she and her husband, Mitch Mackenzie, started their own label, which they run from a modest warehouse in Santa Rosa. There she makes small lots from carefully chosen Sonoma vineyards.

The Florence Reserve comes from Florence Vineyard at the northern tip of Dry Creek Valley. Longtime Rockpile grower Jack Florence, Sr. farms the site on well-drained, gravelly riverbed soils, using vines grown from cuttings of his son’s Rockpile vineyard. The 2018 is 96% Petite Sirah and 4% Zinfandel, harvested September 28. After a four-day cold soak, it fermented in tank with daily pump-overs and spent 12 days on the skins. It then aged for two years and eight months in American oak, 40% new. Only 238 cases were made.

This Petite Sirah pours an inky blue-purple, with jammy black raspberry fruit, dark chocolate and oak spice. Bright, juicy acidity keeps the dense fruit lively, and a touch of warm vanilla lingers on the finish. Its firm tannins give it the structure to age. Serve it with barbecued brisket, grilled lamb or a hearty mushroom ragù.