The Park Muscatine Vineyard has found its voice again, not as a blend, but as a pure expression of itself, in Retro Cellars Park Muscatine Howell Mountain Petite Sirah.

Working with the Park Muscatine Vineyard Petite Sirah clones of Durif and Peloursin, which have structure and tannin as their middle name, winemaker Mike Dunn highlighted the fruit flavors through yeast selection and cold-soaking.

old vine in Park Muscatine

For the aging of the 2004 Petite Sirah, Mike selected French oak barrels from two prestigious coopers: Tonnellerie Cadus, and Tonnellerie Billon. Located on the outskirts of Beaune, France (Burgundy region) Tonnelleries Billon and Cadus produce wine barrels of superior quality. They maintain control over the forest origin of the wood, manage their own stave mill, air-dry the staves for a minimum of 30 months, and implement strict quality-control measures. The fine grain and mellow toast of the Cadus and Billon barrels complements the Petite Sirah with vanilla and spice, while allowing the fruit core to shine through.

For the 2005 Petite Sirah, Mike added two more coopers to his barrel program: Roberts & Son and Gamba. Keith Roberts has been a master cooper for 26 years and has worked the last 15 with his son Nathan. They both apprenticed in France, and have a deep dedication to the art and craft of barrel-making. Keith points out that in the ancient craft of coopering the only transforming change in the last century has been the innovation of toasting, which was not a part of the coopering process until the 1970’s. Fabbrica Botti Gamba is a family owned and operated 215-year old Italian cooperage. It is located in the Piedmonte province of Northern Italy. Mike chose a puncheon, a 120-gallon barrel, from Gamba. Mike reflects “Trying different barrels has been very informative for me. It is amazing to see how each barrel affects the wine, and they can be quite different from each other. It is one of three crucial ingredients in great wines: good grapes, good barrels, and cleanliness”.