Met up with Roy a few weeks ago to taste some of his wines. We had just been in Napa a month earlier and although we saw Roy several times, we were unable to taste with him. So I was really looking forward to this meeting.
As most of you know Roy has been changing his winemaking style and vineyard sources over the last few years. He is now using more Moulds vineyard fruit and much less GIII vineyard fruit. In fact his 2014 and 2015 are 100% Moulds fruit (IIRC). The 2013 is 66% Moulds, 34% GIII. His oak regimen is also changing. His 2013 saw only 70% new oak (med plus toast), his 2014 saw 75% new oak, and his 2015 saw 100% new oak, but from only one cooper.
Overall general impressions: I really enjoyed these wines and think these are a step up from the first three vintages. I like his blend of fruit and structure in these wines. It seems like Roy is hitting a groove here with his style and these next few vintages should continue to yield impressive end results.
All wines were double-decanted 90 minutes prior to tasting.
2013 Roy Piper Cabernet
Big perfumed nose of blueberry, strawberry, and hints of pine spice. Very elegant nose actually. Big and balanced palate with great length. At first I felt the tannins were a bit edgy, but after an hour or so they really smoothed out and had the silky feeling I love. This was really great. 95 points.
2014 Roy Piper Cabernet
Nose was even more elegant and pretty on this wine than the 13. More soft, red-fruited notes, with just a distant hint of spice. Same great palate feel on this, but a tad lighter in weight than the 2013. I initially like this a bit more than the 13 at first taste until the 13 finally opened up. Another great wine. 94 points.
2015 Roy Piper Cabernet (barrel sample)
Much bigger and darker fruited nose. Huge nose. Great black/blueberry fruit. Still primary with some hints of oak. Big mouthfeel, huge tannins. This one needs some time to settle out but I liked it. Score TBD later.
Nice notes, Justin. In the early years, I think it is expected and beneficial for a winemaker to experiment with different techniques, whether it is vineyard choice, style (pick date), choice of oak, or all the above. And then above what the winemaker “wants,” you have what the vintage just naturally hands you.
Of course you found the 2015 “still primary with hints of oak.” If Roy has moved (at least for that vintage) to 100% new oak, of course it will be obvious at this stage, and at under a year in barrel, of course “primary.” I would be curious to have Roy’s comments on any barrel to barrel differences he notes, since this vintage is all one vineyard, all new oak from one cooper. In 2005, I had 3 barrels, all fermented together, and all put into one cooper’s new barrels. The difference that emerged from each those barrels was amazing, and that carried through to successive vintage barreling. Fascinating.
Merrill,
With regards to barrels, for 2013 he used 70% new oak (Bosseut, taransaud, sylvan). In 2015 he used 100% new oak but only Bosseut. I forgot what the coopers for 2014 were.
How is the difference related to the change in vineyard and barrels going to be reflected in the wines? Are others doing something similar or is this different. Just for my continuing education.
I think all of these are better than the 2012, from my recollection, but I haven’t had a 12 in a long while. That said, I’ve never been a big fan of the GIII vineyard.
I have tasted these wines and have a great sense of scores… I kindly disagree on your scores in my professional opinion, as a winemaker for two decades I understand it is very hard for the average person to arrive at professional scores unless they are well tasted…
this post is my professional opinion on the Piper wine …
With all due respect, instead of calling out people for rating wines slightly differently than you, why not celebrate your shared interest, and help encourage more voices on this website? After all, Tanzer and Burghound scores are frequently lower than Parker or Galloni scores, and knowledgeable consumers can figure that out.
Since you chose to be critical, because he rated your 99 point wine at a mere 95, I have to say that I got a heck of a lot more use out of Justin’s extremely intelligible notes than yours, with its descriptions of cinnamon dancing like a dervish on shrooms. But of course I am not ITB…
LOOK ALL I am saying is that we both agree its great wine … ITB I professionally scored this … Amateurs can also score wines and we just have to understand the validity of the scores and where they stand … not disrespecting the TN at all or the score, just rendering it with the proper perspective of the scorer (amateur) or (hobbyist) …
again we agree it’s great wine that Roy is making … and your right to a point, even the top wine critics can be off by 5 point from one another… different day, time, showing etc…
I have a habit of trusting experienced amauters more than ITB’ers when it comes to tasting notes, though there are a few ITB’ers whose palate I trust but they are few and far between. So far in this thread, only Merril would qualify as an ITB’er I would trust.
John, you might be in mortal danger so stop posting right this instant! Please have your significant other, or anyone else in the house, check behind your ear for your head’s maximum PSI rating because I think you’re dangerously close to it and any additional ego in the next few moments could cause a rupture or catastrophic pressure release.
I have tasted these wines and have a great sense of scores… I kindly disagree on your scores in my professional opinion, as a winemaker for two decades I understand it is very hard for the average person to arrive at professional scores unless they are well tasted…
this post is my professional opinion on the Piper wine …
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