One More Final Goodbye
TASTING NOTES:
2023 JR Storey Zinfandel, Andrews Vineyard, Sonoma County - “On the nose, the 2023 Andrews Vineyard Zinfandel opens with inviting aromas of ripe plum and black pepper, with a subtle hint of forest floor, a toasty quality, and a gentle touch of vanilla. On the palate, lush plum and black currant flavors are supported by silky, integrated tannins — generous, refined, and a true reflection of the Fountaingrove District terroir.” (AbV 14.9%, pH 3.72)
2023 JR Storey Winery Beast, The Final Chapter Red Wine, California - “Beast opens with an enticing nose of ripe blackberry, currant, and blueberry, accented by vanilla and hints of pepper — lingering aromas that are hard to resist. Deep and spicy on the palate, generous flavors of plum and black currant are framed by firm, well-structured tannins. Long on the palate, the tantalizing sensations of the Beast not only tempt, but deliver.” (AbV 14.74%, pH 3.65)
BARRELS: 17 months, 100% neutral French oak
PAIRS WITH: N/A
THAT REMINDS ME OF: The Final Chapter.
There’s a particular lie that sequel franchises tell, and they tell it with complete sincerity every single time: that this one is the last one. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter came out in 1984. Jason Voorhees has appeared in ten films since then. Avengers: Endgame was quite literally named after the end of everything, and yet here we are. Even Agatha Christie’s Poirot was killed off in Curtain, a novel she wrote in the 1940s specifically to be published after her death — a genuinely touching and final goodbye — and then the BBC made three more seasons of the TV show anyway. The “final chapter” is less a statement of fact than a vibe. An aesthetic. A theatrical clearing of the throat.
The thing is, it almost always works on us. There’s something about the promise of finality that makes people lean in. Knowing something is ending — or might be ending, or is at least claiming to be ending — makes you pay more attention. Stakes feel higher. Flavors taste richer. You notice things you’d otherwise scroll past. It’s the same reason a sunset hits differently than a noon sky, even though the sun is, technically, just doing the same thing it does every day.
Which, come to think of it, is not a bad way to approach a wine of which only 199 cases exist. Whether or not Beast actually constitutes a final chapter for anything — JR Storey is presumably still very much in business — that scarcity has a way of focusing the mind. You open it knowing there isn’t an endless supply. You pay attention. The blackberry and currant and firm, structured tannins land a little heavier when you know the run was limited. That’s not marketing. That’s just how finality works on the human brain.
