2013 Quixote Petite Sirah

Quixote Winery’s history is made for the movies, or at least a page turner of a novel. It was founded by Carl Doumani, a long time fixture in the Napa Valley wine industry. A one-time Los Angeles restaurateur who bought Napa Valley land in the early 1970s as a getaway spot for his family, he was introduced to the wine business in 1971 when Robert Mondavi offered to buy some of the grapes growing on Doumani’s property. Doumani went on to found Stags’ Leap Winery, which he sold to Beringer Wine Estates in 1997. Doumani’s Stags’ Leap Winery was of course not the Stag’s Leap Winery founded by Warren Winiarski, and two fought each other in court over the name for years. Named for the literary hero Don Quixote and his idealistic quests, Quixote Winery is a 27-acre Stags Leap district estate designed on the aesthetic principles of an environmentally-minded 20th century Viennese designer who preferred curves to straight lines. Though the building is eccentric Quixote’s wines earn praise, especially the Petite Sirah. The estate also makes Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Aaron Pott is consulting winemaker, and Damon Bailey is winemaker. In 2014 Doumani sold Quixote to the Yatai Group of China.

Stags Leap District AVA in southern Napa Valley has a storied history. It is home to Stag’s Leap Cellars, whose 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon won the famous Judgment of Paris blind tasting that included several of Bordeaux’s most exalted First Growths. Vineyards were started in area in the late 19th century, but the district’s rise in prestige started in the late 1960s when Nathan Fay planted Cabernet Sauvignon. Fay later sold his estate to Warren Winiarski, founder of Stag’s Leap Cellars. The district was given its own AVA designation in 1989, and today there are 1,400 vineyard acres. The AVA is especially notable because it was the first in the U.S. to be granted AVA status based on terroir. Its distinctive soils is a mix of volcanic soils, river sediment and loamy clay-like soil. Because the soils don’t retain water well, vineyards in Stag’s Leap tend to grow fruit with great intensity and flavor. Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for 95% of the grapes planted in Stags Leap.

Despite its popularity, this grape is quite rare. Less than 10,000 acres are planted worldwide, with the bulk in California. In France, the grape is referred to as Durif. Not to be confused with Syrah, Petite Sirah is a cross of Syrah and Peloursin. The result is darker and fuller.