Welcome to the Wine Spies Intrigue Awards for 20xx! Each year we recognize our most popular and most sought-after wines from the previous year - while giving our Operatives one final chance to secure some of the winning wines for themselves.

We may never show this wine again, so grab yours while you still can.

Today’s Laughinghouse 2014 Calaveras Petite Sirah is our 2016 Wine Spies Intrigue Award winner for Best Petite Sirah and the latest in a string of hit wines from The Wine Spies.

Today’s 94 point (Chris Sawyer) Petite has it all. Balance. Delicious flavors. Deep aromatics. Authentic aromas and flavors that smell and taste like their real world analogs. Those berries that you smell actually smell like the real thing!

Boldly aromatic, with Santa Rosa plum, blackberry preserve, grilled plum, spice box, tobacco leaf, smoky blueberry, baker’s chocolate, tar, black pepper and black currant.

On the palate, this delectable wine is perfectly balanced and wickedly delicious, with an explosion of blackberry juice, Santa Rosa plum, strawberry juice, black licorice, cured meats, baker’s chocolate, sweet spice, and black pepper.

Petite Sirah, which is also known as Durif, is a variety of red wine grape primarily grown in Australia, California, France, and Israel. It produces wines that are usually quite tannic and possess a spicy, plum-like flavor.

The grape originated as a cross of Syrah pollen germinating a Peloursin plant. In the 1860s the French botanist François Durif kept a nursery of several grape varieties at his home in the commune of Tullins where he most likely had plantings of both Peloursin and Syrah. At some point the two vines cross pollinated and Durif discovered a new grape variety growing in his nursery.

Today we are blessed with this amazing grape.

Get your purple on and stock up on this wine, which will be great for another ten years… or longer!

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Here’s what the wine press has to say:

94 points - Chris Sawyer - “Red wine lovers, listen up: If you haven’t discovered the joys of Petite Sirah, then there’s no better time than the present! The newest example is the Laughinghouse 2014 Petite Sirah, a fresh and vibrant wine made with fruit from the Tanner Vineyard in Calaveras County.

Located in the Sierra Foothills, this special site is known for its warm days, cool nights, and red volcanic soils laced with white granite. In the glass, the expressions of the vineyard come to life with fragrant aromas of wild berries, fresh herbs, lavender, mineral and earth.

On the palate, the wine dazzles the senses with lively flavors of fresh blueberry, boysenberry, ripe raspberry, mineral, mint, lavender, and a touch of oak leading to a long, generous finish.

Overall, the wine is dry, not sweet and the admirable alcohol level of 13.7% makes it an ideal wine to serve with wide range of comfort foods and fine cuisine. For pairings, try this tasty gem with tangy cheeses served with nuts and dried fruits, grilled vegetables, lamb skewers, seared duck breast, grilled Tri-Tip, and slow roasted stews.