Today’s Laughinghouse 2013 Calaveras County Petite Sirah is our Wine Spies 2015 Intrigue Awards winner for Best Petite Sirah.

This wine is a big, fruit-driven delight, but it also has a softer, elegant side that makes it very easy to drink and very easy to pair with a good variety of cuisines.

Ripe and rich on the nose, with blueberry, blackberry, espresso bean, dusty bramble, dried clay, cocoa powder, sweet spice and dried black rose petals.

Lightweight on the palate… at first, with opening flavors of Blackberry, cassis, blueberry and red plum. Then the wine grows more complex and weighty, unpacking additional flavors of dark chocolate, espresso, dried violets and flinty minerals.

If you love great Petite Sirah, this wine will have you wishing that you’d purchased more.

Unfortunately, once we sell it out, it’ll be gone forever.

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Here is what Sommelier Chris Sawyer has to say about this wine:

“Until recently, many of the wines made with hearty Petite Sirah grapes were widely considered by wine critics and sommeliers to be too ripe, jammy, and over the top in terms of alcohol. I know because I was one of these people. But I’m also happy to say that there has recently been a major shift towards making more provocative “Pets” that are much more elegant, sophisticated and user-friendly.

A great example of this more approachable style is the Laughinghouse 2013 Petite Sirah, a lovely wine made with fruit grown at the Tanner Vineyard in Calaveras County. Known for its warm days, cool nights, high elevation and volcanic soils, the vineyards in this region are ideal for growing grapes that mature slowly leading up to harvest. The end result is more concentrated flavors balanced with fresh aromas and natural acidity.

With fragrant aromas of ripe blue fruits, coffee, lavender and earth, this playful new release made from Laughinghouse Vintners delights the senses from the very first sniff.

On the palate, the wine opens up with lively flavors of fresh baked blueberry pop-tart, boysenberry, ripe blackberries, mineral, and subtle spices. More importantly, the finish is dry, not sweet and the admirable alcohol level of 13.5% means having more than one glass is pleasurable instead of a challenge.

With food, this is a fabulous wine to pair with medium cheeses served with nuts and berries, stuffed mushrooms, pizzas, lamb sliders, seared duck breast, grilled Tri-Tip, slow roasted stews, or simply serve it slightly chilled with charcuterie plates or gourmet sandwiches at lunchtime.” - 95 points - Christopher Sawyer, “Sommelier to the Stars”.