A Piece of Napa History

The inaugural vintage of B Cellars Beckstoffer Bourn Vineyard Petite Sirah

When you work with Andy Beckstoffer, you have to pay attention because you never know when he’s going to tell you some really intriguing story from his history and the history of his vineyards. Andy called us up one day in early 2023 to tell us about the old Petite Sirah vines in Bourn Vineyard.  We had no idea that these vines existed.  But it turns out that he had been selling this fruit for years to winemakers who used it to blend into other wines.  Gnarly, old, head-trained Petite Sirah vines that had been planted in 1950!  At this age, the vines were not producing much fruit, and the farming plan called for them to be ripped out and replaced with new rows of Cabernet Sauvignon.  Andy had a hunch, however, that we might have some interest in keeping them in the ground and working with this fruit.

We talked with him, and we all got pretty excited about the idea of saving these vines, of saving this little plot of Napa Valley history. Furthermore, we got excited about not just harvesting the fruit but turning it into a singular wine, a 100% Petite Sirah from 73-year-old vines planted in this rarified piece of Napa Valley terroir.

These Petite Sirah vines were planted by the direct descendants of William Bowers Bourn II in 1950. That is only 5 years after the end of World War II—15 years before Robert Mondavi broke away from his brother Peter and the family business at Krug to start his own eponymous winery—20 years before Andy Beckstoffer struck out on his own and started up his farming company—26 years before the now-famous “Paris Tasting”—and 52 years before B Cellars started making wine. In those days, Napa Valley grape growers were essentially just farmers who happened to grow grapes, as opposed to walnuts or prunes.  No one worried over particular clones; they barely worried about varietals, sometimes planting blocks to what were simply known as “mixed blacks,” meaning rows planted with various red wine grape varietals.  Petite Sirah was often one of these varietals. More importantly, though, this bottle contains a look back into the story of the Napa Valley.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

With only 25 cases produced, we offer this exclusive bottle of Napa Valley history as a continued testament to the Beckstoffer family’s high standards of excellence in viticulture, their dedication to preserving vineyard sites in the Napa Valley, and B Cellars’ dedication to excellence in winemaking.

2023 Beckstoffer Bourn Vineyard Petite Sirah

Inky dark color; a lively, dancing aroma of baking spices, fresh flowers, and crushed berries. A mid-palate dominated by raspberry jam, mountain strawberries, and a refreshing acidity with broad palate-painting tannins and a long, mineral finish. In short, it is a prettiness not expected from a Petite Sirah planted in a warm pocket of the Valley.