NOSE: hint of skunk (possible reduction?); bubble gum; deep cherry; skunky scent blew-off in the glass and decanter, eventually; hint of sweet Australian black licorice after a while (perhaps the skunk note melded into this); overall, smells richly-fruited.
BODY: ruby color of medium depth; medium bodied.
TASTE: high acidity; rich, slightly sweet red fruits — honestly, reminds me of Rochioli, but a bit less thick, and with higher acidity; good concentration of fruit; medium oak; labelled at 13.9% alc. — I would have guessed something higher. This strikes me as a “bigger” pinot that will still appeal to many wine geeks. I’m going to keep my eyes on Peake Ranch for a while, as I think there’s some great potential for them, and they’re already doing some things worthy of attention. Drink Now through 2030.
Great note - and I would guess that ‘skunky’ quality was reduction, which should go away with air (or a copper penny).
This certainly is a site to watch - the owners of this vineyard also own the John Sebastiano Vineyard in the Sta Rita Hills and Sierra Madre in the Santa Maria Valley IIRC. Their winemaker is the former asst. winemaker for Melville and is well versed in Pinot and Chardonnay.
This is still a very young vineyard and it’ll be interesting to see how the wines develop over time - and how others who work with this fruit do with it as well.
Cheers.
And just to beat a dead horse, I really wish CT broke this down as Santa Barbara County already instead of lumping it in with ‘Central Coast’ . . .
I owe Phil C. a big for recommending this visit to me a while back. Great wines. Hospitable staff. and a beautiful property. Really excited to see what the future holds for Peake Ranch.
Also stopped in for a visit recently. It was my first time tasting the wines. Agree that they are nice wines overall and would add that they have a beautiful tasting room. I have to disagree on the hospitable staff, though, (at least on the day we were there). The woman pouring for us was quite unpleasant - when she turned up with a bottle you better have your glass empty and ready for her. Once poured, she had a spiel that she was going to deliver and you better be quiet and attentive. Questions were not well received. I might understand if the room were packed and she were alone but there were 2-3 employees there during the course of our visit and 6-8 tasters. I did purchase several bottles and she even managed to make my purchase a brusque experience (note that both the tasting fee and the minimum purchase to waive the fee are quite high). I probably wouldn’t have done so otherwise even though I enjoyed the wines given the uncomfortable tasting. Hopefully just a bad day.
Eric, you may just have caught someone on a bad day, we have visited their tasting room twice, most recently in February. Both time we had an excellent experience, with our hostess being very well informed, and spending considerable time with us. IIRC the tasting fee was waved if you spent $100 or more.
I was amazed to learn Paul Lato was their winemaker thru the 2017 vintage. The Peake Ranch wines are refined and complex, nothing like the high alcohol fruit bombs he makes for his own label. Who knew Paul was a great winemaker with hidden talents!
I was there in January. Had a very nice tasting. I think they waived all fees with my six bottle purchase. I popped one a week ago and it, quite honestly, blew me away. Way better than I remember any of the wines showing during my tasting. If only I kept tasting notes ever…
![[thankyou.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/d/df165fe9c1593d19166ae7e1ffe5e272089cc07b.gif "thankyou"){kind=small}
for recommending this visit to me a while back. Great wines. Hospitable staff. and a beautiful property. Really excited to see what the future holds for Peake Ranch. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}