So it is Valentine’s Day and Traci and I decide…beautiful day in the bay are, V-Day, what better time to explore the the coast. We hop in the car and drive up to Marshall, CA (off Highway 1 north of Point Reyes - think cheese - but south of Nick’s Cove). After bloody mary’s on the water at Nick’s Cove we headed south on 1 toward Marshall’s Store. For those that don’t know about Marshall’s…they rock. Small little place on Tomales Bay. They sell Oyster raw ($10 1/2 dozen), bbq oyster and oyster rockefeller plus some sandwiches and fish tacos. They have a permit to sell beer and wine but you can’t drink it on the property…luckily they set up tables dotting the bay that are “off premises” and they DON"T CHARGE CORKAGE.
So, I brought 1990 Krug to celebrate the occasion (I also brought a 2007 Peay Chardonnay which acted as our return roadie…).
The Krug…freakin awesome. Consumed out of Riedel burg stems. Perfect. Initially that carmel apple that yielded to meyer lemon and sea air. I didn’t think to long and hard about the wine…instead I just enjoyed how it worked with the raw oysters, the fact that it seemed to me perfectly mature for Champagne…I won’t give it 100 pts but as the day went, it was a 100 pt day. 70 degrees, sunny and low wind along the Northern California coast. Oysters fresh from the bay, my wonderful fiancee and a great bottle of vintage Krug.
Oh and the 2007 Peay Chardonnay was equally terrific on the ride home…nice almond, tropical fruit, lemon peel and a little tale tale bitterness…by the time we hit Berkeley it was toast but drinking beautifully as well…92/100
What a kick ass place The Marshall Store is! Easiest $70 I ever spent, had 3 dozen and we loved them all. 2002 William Fevre Fourchaume Vignoble de Vaulorent was brought along and we were glad to pop this bottle as it seemed to fade fast. Really fat Chablis with definite apples & pears on the nose with real minerals/powdered stone. In one’s mouth the wine had a waxy/oily quality that dominated the fruit but paired really well with the excellent raw Pacific oysters. The wine was warm, ~ 65* upon serving, but seemed to fade faster than we would have anticipated. Have 2 more and they won’t last the summer.
Tony - Awesome notes and day. My wife and I coincidentally shared some oysters and a bottle of 2007 Peay Chardonnay recently with some similiarities and some big differences. One big difference, there is still at least a foot of snow on the ground here and instead of a scenic drive, we have spent too much time behind a snow blower. We did enjoy the Peay enough to prompt me to buy a bunch more. Concur with your notes.
Thanks. The Peay is a terrific Chardonnay and they age well too. And while we did have some excellent weather we are back to the gloom today…low 50’s grey and ugly…
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