Dorey Cellars Petite Sirah: Big Wine, Bigger Value
For those among you with eagle eyes and an elephant’s memory, the name “Dorey Cellars” may be familiar. For our second deal in the space of just two days (after a very long drought) we’re offering the 2008 Dorey Cellars Petite Sirah, the big brother of the ’07 Dorey Cellars Workbench Zinfandel that was the very first of 10 days of deals for our 10th anniversary in August last year.
The Workbench was a huge seller, and we expect that with a discount of more than 44%, the petite sirah on offer today will fly out da door: We have just 18 cases available for $9.99 per bottle when you purchase six or more—down from regular retail of $17.99, our “bottle one” price.
If it is tacky marketing to discuss price before extolling the attributes of the product, then label me a knave. . .in these cost-conscious times I’m just trying to get your attention. In truth, all it takes to rivet your senses is a splash of this juice in the nearest wine stem.
Winery Tasting Notes: “The clay in Clarksburg is making quite a stir in one of California’s newest AVAs where petite sirah clearly thrives. Big and bold, dark and inky, paired with a steak or even a cigar, this wine will bring your taste buds to attention.”
In the process of transcribing these notes, I made a slight mistake and wrote “Big and bold, dark and kinky”, perhaps simply a Freudian slip; more likely the lusty, sensual, provocative qualities of this wine (falling just a bit short of “sexy”) could be blamed for any cognitive slippage. For a paltry 10 bucks, this wine kicks ass.
It has a pretty, lavender nose juxtaposed against muscular, brawny fruit in the glass. This wine’s tannic backbone and acidic exoskeleton provide a rock solid framework for the blackberry and licorice flavors. The finish is nice, if not epic. After five years in the bottle, this wine is begging to be consumed right now (and in that spirit, I’m working on draining this bottle at dinner tonight).
What I found particularly interesting about this wine is the source of the grapes. Dorey Cellars purchased fruit from the Winchester Vineyard in Clarksburg, an AVA that has produced some mammoth petite sirahs. Most notable is Jeff Runquist’s entry, which in years past has dominated competition at the California State Fair.
As with the 2008 Inheritance Heritage Red that was brought to your attention in yesterday’s GWDW, this juice is scarce. . .a search on Winesearcher.com produces no results. That may be because just 240 cases were produced. Whatever, we’ve got a limited quantity to sell, and when it’s gone. . .well, that’s it!
Now all that is left for you to do is step up to your computer, dig your toes into the dirt, tap your bat on the plate and then crush the “Buy Now” button like you are smashing a hanging curveball over the left field wall. It just feels good, doesn’t it?
