I may try one for siths and giggles
I concur with Scott, the 2010 is a delicious wine in its infancy. Will be interesting to taste in again after time but you won’t be disappointed with having some now
Meant to say concur with Kyle above on his '10 impressions
Is the 2010 typical of the house style? This is my first year buying from them. I love the story and the price, but wasn’t crazy about the '10. For my tastes, this wine was too feminine, restrained, herbaceous and angular. I attribute some of those characteristics to youth, but I’m not sure if these are in my wheelhouse if the '10 is typical of the house style. It seemed well made, but not on the end of the spectrum I typically go for.
Hey Blake–nice Avatar
Marietta has gotten a lot prettier since the last time I visited 
Jody–I haven’t popped a '10 yet but i think you are describing many of the qualities of D-P pretty well.
Jody, I wouldn’t describe the '10 as herbaceous or angular. That said, the 2007 was showing more brawn, bulk and ripe fruit when I last had it about a year ago. But that’s vintage variation for you. '10 is definitely a cool year not dominated by the super ripe fruit that you seem to prefer. '11s probably won’t be in your wheelhouse either, but I’m guessing you’ll dig '12s (generally speaking).
I have to agree, gorgeous vineyards out this way! and beautiful mountains ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
Jody,
It has been my experience that upon release young Drinkward Peschon benefit greatly with an additional year or two in the cellar. The 2007 was an exception, as it was ready from the get go. I remember my first bottle of 2004 at age three was tight and intense, but a year later it had blossomed into a really nice wine. I had similar experiences with the 2006 and 2008.
Stylistically I would classify the wine as being an old world-new world hybrid. You really get the best characteristics of both Bordeaux and Napa.
Based on your described preferences I would recommend you seek out the 2007, which I thoroughly enjoy, although probably not their best wine to date. Its packed with lush fruit and silky tannins and maintains excellent balance. I’d be curious to get your take on it?
Kyle/Christopher,
Thanks for the additional info. I can appreciate a more graceful style. Some of my favorite surprises have come from young understated wines that evolve to put on weight and layers of complexity. David Arthur 1147 and Ovid as example. Neither drink well young, but evolve beautifully. I was just wondering if perhaps the DP is similarly fashioned. Perhaps I’ll just source some older bottles to see how these evolve.
We had a chance to meet up with Francois yesterday in Napa and she was kind enough to do a quick tasting( everyone is super busy this week as harvest is gong full bore) and taste through 4 vintages of DP- 2008-2011.
I have been a big fan of these wines and the neat story of Francois and Lisa and how the project started. Now after meeting Francois we are even bigger fans. Super nice lady and really the type of folks we love to support. I also feel for the $ and my tastes it’s one of the top wines in Napa. Side note on shipping as some folks have complained about the cost for 2nd day air. I have them ship ground in cooler weather and it works out find and is much more reasonable…
I’ve always felt DP rewarded several years of cellaring and 2-3 hours of air to really show it’s best and the type of complexity and balance I love. These were all pnp and consumed in about 1 hour. It started out as a tasting and my group ended up polishing off all the wines. There are some great sites their fruit comes from and it’s the same sources every year. I should have taken notes and paid more attention because I don’t remember the vineyard names but some serious wines source fruit from the same places. There is a very particular style they shoot for and it’s really evident when you have an oppty to taste multiple vintages- playful but serious tannins, upfront fruit but very balanced and never hot( they shoot for 14.5% alcohol). Rewards some decanting and meant to be had with food. I thought Francois said it best- They make a wine for drinking and enjoying with a meal not just for tasting. It will never smack you in the face either from being super concentrated, large scaled or with serious tannins… Now for the wines all pnp.
2008- it has been one of my favorites but at home I always give it air. Showing well now but still hiding a bit. Very balanced and good representation of the style. Give it time or decant/slow ox. Some great parmesan/reggino also brought out some additional depth and complexity.very good.
2009- this is a bit showy for DP and it really drinks great right now. This is the wine to drink right now Scott ! Pillowy and soft tannins with the trademark dark fruit and an earthy mineral component. Would have liked to have come back to it a few hours later but our group drained it. Early on it was most of the group’s favorite. Very good.
2010- I think the notes above are spot on. This one is showing well now and would not hesitate to open if you can give it a few hours of air. For me it has a bit more of everything that represents their style. Tannins are a bit more serious. It has a wonderful mineral component that i love with their wines and i think it will reward 4-5 more years of cellaring. Outstanding and may end up being my favorite vintage. The 07 has been but i think this may eclipse it and for sure outlive it. By the end of the tasting it was the group favorite.
2011- showed well for such a young wine. Has a bit more earth and not as much upfront fruit. No surprise considering the vintage. Already very balanced and almost BDX like. Our group finished it off about 2 hours later and it had rounded out very nicely. It needs 3-4 years. It’s good now with upside potential. I’ll let these sit while I drink the 09’s.
All in all a great visit. Francois has a terrific touch with the wines and i just like her philosophy on wine. Some of my favorite Cabs from the 90’s and early 2000’s were the Etude’s made by Tony Soter. I learned from her that he was her mentor and worked for him when she started at Arujo 20 years ago…
I love WB
Thanks Fred
2007 was still a little woody when I had it this July… so I recommend more time for that on.
Brought that with us and will probably end up opening it along side a Larkmead Solari and Bressler 07.
Ed- i thought the O7 drank fine with some decant time but there is certainly no rush. I will probably open some of the 09’s before i go back to one of these. We didn’t get to the Solari but the Bresler 07 we had with it was outstanding. Somewhat similiar styles.
On a separate note several winemakers said that 07 may not be the vintage to age. I’ve now had a regular Larkmead along with the 2 above recently and I think i will probably not hold any of my 07’s past the age of 10.
Thanks Fred! I have enough to try one again soon.
Had a chance to catch up with Francoise and Lisa on our Napa trip and they were kind enough to share the 05 and 06. Both were drinking great and their 06 was the only producer I’ve ever liked as much as their 05. I think the 06’s in general are starting to come out of their shell. Their’s was excellent and it was great to catch up with the DP team.
Cheers,
Fred
Yet another update I appreciate, Fred. I haven’t had the '06 in about 3 years but have been eyeing up my other bottle and thinking about opening it soon. Thanks for the report!
Funny. Drank my sole bottle of 06 last week and was very pleased.
My pleasure Andy. I checked CT and my last one was August 2013. I’d say this one was more open and a bit more going on. This and the Bressler 06 surprised me a bit as I have not been a huge fan of the vintage but seems like they just needed time.
I think I’ve been a bigger fan of '06 in general than you, Fred. But many of them did need more time than their '04, '05, and '07 counterparts. I’m happy to be sitting on quite a few bottles still.
Re: Bressler, when we visited with Bob in June he mentioned that he was likely going to do a library release of the '06 when he offers the '11. Any mention of that when you saw him? I’m wondering if that’s still on the table.
Andrew-I asked Bob about doing a library release and i believe he said they make them available by request to folks who either come to taste or on the mailing list. No up charge either. His 06 is just starting to round into form and is very nice.
Check out the thread on Calluna. QPR of the trip hands down.