Madrigal Napa Valley Petite Sirah – Perfection

100% Petite Sirah from Napa Valley, California.

It appears that this wine had an SRP of $50(!) when it was released. It is currently available for as low as $19.95 if you’re near one of the few stores in California that stocks it. I purchased it for $24.

From the bottle:

“Since the late 1930’s, three generations of the Madrigal family have farmed the vineyards of the Napa Valley. We have learned one thing for sure — it takes great grapes to produce great wine. We are proud to offer hand-crafted wines in small lots from the finest vineyards. Enjoy!

14.4% Alcohol”

Today’s wine seems almost too good to be true because, justified or not, Napa Valley wines command a premium. There aren’t many Napa Valley wines that ever go for under $20 and when you are buying a 2005 vintage wine (which was an excellent vintage) in the year 2013, you best be prepared to shell out a lot more than that. So what gives with today’s wine? There are probably a number of factors at play, but mostly you can thank the vastly under-appreciated Petite Sirah grape for keeping the prices down on this Napa Valley nugget of gold.

I love Petite Sirah and as we’ve discussed many times I really don’t understand why prices of these wines aren’t higher. It just goes to show how irrational wine pricing can be, with prices being driven up based on name alone. Of course I’m not really complaining because this opens up a wonderful opportunity for Reverse Wine Snobs!

The 2005 Madrigal Vineyards Napa Valley Petite Sirah begins with a beautiful aroma of deep blackberry, a little leather, anise, black pepper and spice. Tasting the wine reveals tons of depth in the rich, dark, amazingly delicious fruit. The wine is thickly tannic but there’s so much fruit that it is still nicely balanced. It’s also very smooth. And did I mention how delicious it was? It does have a bit of sediment after all those years in the bottle so you may want to filter it when serving. It ends dry, with very good length and a hint of oaky spice, but mostly just more rich and savory dark fruit. I’ve purchased this beauty multiple times and everyone I’ve poured it for has absolutely loved it. My only concern is when this vintage will no longer be available!

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.

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