red grape · regional staple

Petite Sirah

Tullins, Isère, France

Say it

doo·reef

/dy.ʁif/French

Named for botanist Dr. François Durif; stress on second syllable in French; American speakers commonly say DUR-if but doo-REEF follows the French original.

On the palate

Body full

Acidity medium plus

Tannin high

Aromatics pronounced

blueberryblackberryblack plumblack pepperlicoricecoffee

How you spot it blind: near-opaque inky color paired with some of the grippiest tannins of any variety

The story

First written down · 1868, Tullins, Isère, France

Syrah × Peloursin cross documented 1868 in Tullins by ampelographer Victor Pulliat; introduced to California in 1884 at Alameda County's Linda Vista Vineyard, with parentage DNA-confirmed by UC Davis in 1997.

Family tree: Syrah × Peloursin

Where it lives

California (Lodi, Paso Robles, Mendocino, Lake County) · Australia (Rutherglen, Heathcote) · Chile · Israel

Shows up as

still redfortified

If you like this, try

Syrah →Zinfandel →Malbec →

Also answers to Petit Sirah, Petite Syrah, Durif.

Shop our Petite Sirah bottles