Today’s wine is offered to you with our heartiest recommendation and a guarantee that you’ll love it. If you don’t just let us know and we’ll buy it all back. That’s not just wishful thinking on our part. We’re pretty sure that you’ll love this wine as much as we do!

All of us here at Wine Spies HQ were instantly impressed by our first sips of today’s Refugio Ranch Vineyards 2015 Santa Ynez Valley Petite Sirah - but it was after some decanting that we were positively blown away. This wine is bold, dark and rich on the palate, with aromatics and a mouth fee that are otherworldly.

This wine looks deep, dark, and positively inky with a fine ring of dark maroon at the edges of the wine. Swirl the wine and the walls of the glass are instantly coated in dark garnet. This wall of garnet gradually coalesces into long, skinny legs that move slowly down the glass wall. On the nose, very aromatic, with dark, heady, bold aromas of smoky black cherry, blackberry reduction, blueberry pie, Santa Rosa plum, Dutch black licorice, baker’s chocolate, dusty violets, subtle campfire, and black pepper.

For a glimpse into Refugio Ranch, its people, and their philosophy, please view this wonderful video:

The Refugio Ranch Story from Refugio Ranch on Vimeo.

The Santa Ynez Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area), which was designated in 1983, covers more than 75,000 acres in the broader Santa Barbara County. The area has since been sub-divided into four separate sub-appellations: Sta. Rita Hills, Happy Canyon, Ballard Canyon, and the Los Olivos District. The Santa Ynez AVA contains a diversity of soil and climate types which contribute, in turn, to a great diversity of grape varietal and wine styles. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the most-planted grape here, but Bordeaux and Rhône varieties do particularly well here.

Here’s what the wine press has to say.

93 Points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous - “The 2015 Petite Sirah is another bold, powerful wine. A blast of blue/purplish fruit, smoke, gravel, licorice and spice notes race out of the glass. The exuberant Petite tannins are nicely tamed in this expressive, inviting wine. Winemaker Ryan Deovlet did a tremendous job with this wine.”

91 Points - Matt Kettmann, Wine Enthusiast - “Smoked blackberries, hickory wood, roasted meats and a touch of tar show on the nose of this bottling from the estate vineyard on the south side of the Santa Ynez River. The charred beef and smoked fruit kick carries to the palate, where tannins provide tension yet the mouthfeel remains soft and inviting. A great wine for barbecued ribs.”