Lot 302 | 2021 Languedoc (Cesseras) Petite Sirah 750ml

Lot 302 | 2021 Languedoc (Cesseras) Petite Sirah 750ml

I tasted this wine from barrel with winemaker Camille Ournac (a graduate of Burgundy's prestigious oenology school) at Chateau Cesseras in the Minervois (in the Languedoc region) last month and was blown away, not just by having found Petite Sirah in the Minervois, but at the ridiculous quality-to-price ratio.

Eight-generations of Ournac's have produced wine here in Minervois but it was Camille's father, Pierre-Andre, who saw the potential to grow a broader array of varietals and, 15-years ago, began to add Syrah, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Petite Verdot and, thankfully, Petite Sirah to the families 90-hectares of vineyards. The vines, now 9-year-old vines and just hitting their stride, are planted in limestone soils on the foot hills of the “Montagne Noire” close to the medieval city of Carcassonne, at over 200m of altitude.

There are only about 150-200 cases of the Petite Sirah produced every year and we've purchased every last drop of the 2021 which we expect to remove from barrel and bottle in late May.

Deep and dark in the glass with a little purple edge. The bouquet is dense with emerging complexity with a bouquet of black cherry and blackcurrant notes wrapped around rocky minerality, a hint of garrigue and toasty oak notes. On the palate, lots of black fruits and spicy huckleberry notes provide excellent freshness and inform a long, peppery and generous finish with perfectly-integrated tannins.

Given the dense color, this is a surprisingly seductive and elegant wine. However, given the winemaker was trained at Burgundy's prestigious oenology school and has made wine in South Africa, New Zealand, Chile, Italy and the USA (Gramercy Cellars), it should come as no surprise. Cheers Camille!

100% Petite Sirah
100% open top oak vat fermented before transferring to barrel for ageing (40% new French oak)
13.5% alc.
150-200 cases expected
Bottling mid-May 2022


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