2014 Bale’s Creek Estate Petite Sirah Spring Mountain District Napa Valley

Once you start winding your way up steep Spring Mountain Road from St. Helena, it doesn’t take long until you find yourself in the land of some of the most outstanding wines produced in Napa Valley: Pride, Keenan, Immortal Estate, Barnett, Stony Hill, and Smith-Madrone are all located up here. 

But at these heights—and beyond the stellar Cabernet Sauvignon, beyond the minerally Riesling and Chardonnay—we discovered something arguably more rare and precious: the 2014 Bale’s Creek Petite Sirah Spring Mountain District. 

If you have not tasted cellared Napa Valley Petite Sirah, this will be a revelation. No Napa reds age better than Petite Sirah, and this is a stunning example that shows nine years of cellar maturity. It’s got bountiful aromas of black cherries, cassis, and blackberries embraced by dried roses, dark chocolate, and tobacco, plus a hint of Amaro. The mouthfeel is complex, showing layers of fruit, spice, and gentle tannins that glide through to a lingering finish. 

Collectors of big, powerful Napa reds look to the region’s higher-elevation appellations for wines with a distinct focus, minerality, and cellaring potential. However, the less appealing commonality of these “mountain wines” is their often prohibitive cost. 

But that’s for Cabernet Sauvignon. The world might think of it as California’s grape, but Petite Sirah—one of the “mixed blacks” that were often planted by European immigrants in the 19th century—has one of the longest viticultural legacies in California. 

These days, great Petite Sirah is getting rarer and rarer—it’s simply too profitable to grow Cabernet Sauvignon—which is why we were so thrilled to find this library release in the Bale’s Creek cellar. Untouched for nearly a decade, it’s drinking beautifully.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.90%
• 30 mins
• Now – 2026
• % Petite Sirah
• Serving temperature – 58°
• Cork