Introducing The 2007 Estate Petit Sirah From Thornton
Well first and foremost thanks and kudos to Crispin, Marilyn and Juanita for allowing me a couple weeks to play hooky and time to renew my spirits. It looks like everyone enjoyed their picks and just goes to show how completely replaceable I really am.
Today was proof that sometimes having no plan is the best plan of all. Being in the middle of a whirlwind week I completely forgot to make arrangements to visit Thornton Winery in advance to choose my pick of the week. I was literally 5 miles away from the winery and praying to get a hold of Don Reha, the winemaker at Thornton, so that I could sit down and taste his wines. Today was a very busy day for Don and the Thornton staff, as they were getting ready to release their 2007 wines. Don was swamped with sales calls, writing tasting notes and preparing to take the staff through the new releases. Though, with all this going, on Don invited me to come down and taste whatever I liked.
When I arrived Don met me and escorted me to the tasting room. He sat me at a small table right next to the fire with a basket of fresh bread and light jazz in the background. It was a chilly and rainy day, but immediately I felt the day turning for the good. Don and I chatted about the new wines for a bit and then introduced me to Dana and Mary who would be taking care of me for the tasting.
I decided to have a small glass of the Non Vintage Blanc de Noir to cleanse my palate and a slice of warm fresh bread. To follow I tried a couple of whites that were very good and will more than likely write about in the near future. Being quite eager to try the selections I had before me, I dove into the new releases. Some were repeats of past vintages and one or two new varietals found their way on the tasting menu.
The one that sold me was, as Don Reha said, Tthe result of four years of viticultural trial and error.” The 2007 Estate Petit Sirah is fantastic! Open the bottle and give it a bit of time to breathe and be ready to savor this wine for a couple of hours. I took nearly twenty minutes to enjoy half of a glass and looked forward to taking a bottle home to enjoy later.
What I enjoy about this wine is the tremendous amount of red fruit; cherries and raspberries. The Petit Sirah has a finish that goes on for days and a nose that keeps your glass close to your lips. Don has prepared notes to go with this wine that put mine to shame but I guess why he’s the wine maker and I’m just the lucky stiff who gets to drink it.
There are about 200 cases of this wine available starting today but I imagine wine club members and collectors will be buying it up quick so don’t waste anytime picking up your own supply.
The 2007 Petit Sirah will available starting today for $40.00, but as always if you mention Taste Of Temecula between Friday April 23 and April 30th you can get the wine club discount and buy your bottle or bottles for $32.00
each.
When you visit Thornton be sure to try a bite from their Cafe Champagne and say hello to Mary or Dana in the tasting room.
Till next week Ciao.
