Spring Valley Vineyard Sheri-Lee Petit Verdot 2013
For our beef bourguignon wine dinner, we also opened this Washington State Petit Verdot. We tasted this label during our visit to the Walla Walla tasting room during our Walla Walla Wine Experience in 2019. We acquired this label as part of our regular shipment of our club allocation.
All Spring Valley Vineyard wines are named in tribute to family members who have succeeded in farming the same land where the vineyard and winery now flourish. This Petit Verdot is named for Sharilee (pronounced Shar’ a lee) Corkrum Derby, granddaughter of Spring Valley founder Uriah Corkrum. Sharilee, known as Shari, married Dean Derby in 1954 and worked in farming the wheat fields at Spring Valley as her grandfather, father, Frederick, and mother, Nina Lee, did before her.
Shari and Dean planted the first wine grapes at Spring Valley in 1993 beginning the tradition of Spring Valley Vineyards. Following in the footsteps of ancestors Uriah, Katherine, Frederick, and Nina Lee Corkrum, Shari Corkrum Derby and her husband Dean Derby continue to operate the wheat fields, and now vineyards and winery, on the property that has been the family ranch for over 100 years.
We had the pleasure of meeting Dean Derby when we visited the vineyards during our Walla Walla Wine Experience in 2019.
The Spring Valley Vineyards lie 12 miles northeast of Walla Walla, amid the picturesque wheat fields of southeastern Washington and the Blue Mountains in the distance. The initial block of Merlot was planted in 1993 on a southern hillside facing southwest. The vines follow the north-south slope of the hills in vertical rows, an orientation that when combined with the declination of the slope, allows the vines to take optimal advantage of air drainage, sunshine, and the reflective nature of the surrounding wheat fields.
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| Spring Valley Vineyards amidst wheat fields with views of Blue Mountains in the distance |
The south facing slopes of Spring Valley Vineyards
Spring Valley take great care managing the vineyards with individual attention to each grape vine tended by hand, including crop thinning, leaf pulling, and harvesting, as well as hand-burying individual canes to protect them during the winter in southeastern Washington
This release is a blend of 80% Petit Verdot and 20% Cabernet Franc.
Winemaker Tasting Notes: “This 2013 Petit Verdot is very vibrant with peppers, spices, orange peels, pomegranates and figs on the nose. The palate is elegant and mineral. This is a great wine that can pair with almost any food. Great for a BBQ party too.” ~ Winemaker Serge Laville
Lighter and less fruit than expected, this was garnet purple colored, slightly opaque, medium bodied, black berry and black cherry fruits with notes of herbs, dill, fennel and cola, medium acidity and a short finish.
RM 88 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2183279
https://www.springvalleyvineyard.com/