The Prodigal Son - Petit Sirah

Price: $9.99
Region: California
Year: 2006

For some reason over the past couple of weeks, I have been heading to a different country section of my favorite wine store to try and find a new wine. Last week I tried a new wine from Spain, and this week I was gravitating towards Italy, as it has just been a while since I tried a new Italian wine. For some reason though, I left the aisle without finding what I was looking for (maybe next week). Then, I ended up in a small section of the red wine aisle called "alternative reds". This is always a place I like to take a peak in order to find something a bit different. This week however, it wasn't something different, but instead a new brand of wine I buy quite often. It is hard to miss the bright colorful label, and the interesting name of this wine, and it definitely caught my attention. There are only a handful of Petit Sirah wines in this store, so I guess that is why it shows up in this section. Based on how much me and my wife love a bottle of Bogle Petit Sirah, I am always on the lookout for its equal, at a similar or better price. However, so far, no luck. So, when I saw a new bottle of Petit Sirah with a catchy name, and at the same price point, I had to give it a try.

Usually I would save this wine to have with a hamburger on the grill, or some other grilled meat, but I already knew we were having Italian take-out, and that wasn't stopping me. I was really looking forward to giving this a try, which might have been my first mistake. I have to remind myself to not get my expectations up when buying a bottle of wine under $10. Anyway, I sat down to dinner, and poured myself a glass. It started off good enough, with a nice rich, deep red color. Very similar to other Petit Sirah wines I have enjoyed. Definitely one of the things I love about this variety is the color. So, I gave the glas a swirl, and was not surpirsed that it was a nice strong scent. Pleasant enough, but for some reason, it seemed a bit young, for lack of a better word. As usual though, it was going to come down to taste, as I was a bit on the fence at this point. So, when I took a sip, it had a good start, but faded quickly. As I noticed with a smell, the wine didn't seem to have much in the way of staying power. It was a nice enough taste, but still a bit short of the Bogle, and with much less length. So, my search for an equal continues, but I'll keep trying for sure.

Rating: 2.75 Corks (Decent, with a catchy name & label)