Cycles Gladiator Petite Sirah 2014

This is a particularly dark, brooding wine with aromatics of boysenberry and blueberry tied together with sweet cedar and vanilla notes from the new oak. Plum, blackberry, and other black fruit flavors up front. The tannins are pretty immense but the depth of lush fruit on the midpalate mitigate any perception of astringency. The result is a mouthfilling expression of dark fruits that wrap around the tongue and coat the whole mouth. This is a wine that will stain your soul.

Along the Sacramento River Delta sits the rich farmlands of the Lodi appellation and the new home to Cycles Gladiator Winery. A grape-growing region since the 1850’s, Lodi is now home to more than 80,000 acres of premium varietals and more than 50 wineries, and is quickly becoming recognized as one of California’s most exciting wine appellations. Noted for its classic Mediterranean climate and its deep, fertile sandy loam soils, it is the perfect environment for the production of world class wines. The high daytime temperatures are moderated by cooling Delta breezes which flow through the area in the evenings, creating ideal growing conditions.