Petite Sirah

Petite Sirah is the American name for Durif, a deeply coloured, thick-skinned red grape that yields some of the inkiest, most tannic wines in California. A natural cross of Syrah and the old French variety Peloursin, it is not the same grape as Syrah, despite the shared name and a long history of confusion between the two. The wines are near-opaque purple-black, full-bodied and firmly structured, built around blueberry, blackberry, plum and black pepper over chocolate and oak. Chiefly grown in California — with smaller plantings in Australia and Israel — Petite Sirah is a powerful, age-worthy red prized for its colour, grip and long, dark-fruited finish.