2005 Peay Vineyards Chardonnay Estate- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (11/18/2009)
Honey suckle and other floral aromas start off the party. Creme brulee and an extreeeemely long citrus finish. Pineapple, lime, buttered toast with orange marmalade. Even some mango in there. Peay Estate is one of my favorite domestic Chards and in my opinion well worth the $45 mailing list price. (90 pts.)
2006 Peay Vineyards Roussanne/Marsanne Estate- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (11/16/2009)
Quince, melon, and oily petrol. I find this Roussanne/Marsanne, and I guess most white Rhone blends, a bit distinctively stinky. Not awful, I think this is how they are supposed to smell, but also not my particular cup of tea. Not rated due to my lack of sophistication with this blend.
I’d be interested in knowing which is 2x+ better than the other 3. Last week I tried the 06 Peay next to a 2002 Michelot Meursault Villages that just crushed it…50% less than the Peay on close-out (maybe not that much if you count the Premox rate ;-(
There are numerous very competitive and cheaper Chablis - Fevre, Dauvissat, Verget, etc.
Don’t get me wrong, Peay makes lovely wines and I still dream of the 04 Estate Pinot, but there’s blood in the retail waters and today’s $35 and under Chard was yesterdays $50+
Richard, I can’t disagree with much you’ve said, though having recently tasted the 04 Peay, I can say that wine is definitely worth its tariff. Peay is frankly the only Chardonnay I buy from California, a few Dehlinger maybe. You’ll find me drinking a lot more Burgundy, but I have a strong loyalty to Peay, knowing the effort and quality that goes into the vineyard and the winemaking - plus I helped out during the Chardonnay harvest in 06 And in a climate of seriously overpriced wines, at least there is good value up and down their lineup. I actually believe their best wine is Syrah, but that’s a tougher sell in todays’ wine market.
Cheers!
John, I’m pretty sure it’s 100% malo, I think on the order of 30% new oak. Similarly to your vineyard, the Peay vineyard is in a location that puts it nearer the end points for vintage variation, which is one of the things that makes the wines interesting every year. The 06 Chard was a little bit “fatter” perhaps than some other vintages. A lot of vineyards have to fight botrytis as well that year, and I think it shows a touch on the wine. Personally, I find their Chardonnay to have a lot of Burgundy character, much more so than most Cali wines. Don’t know if you’ve had any of their Syrahs, if not you need to
Cheers
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And in a climate of seriously overpriced wines, at least there is good value up and down their lineup. I actually believe their best wine is Syrah, but that’s a tougher sell in todays’ wine market.