Absolutely perfect weather for a pickup party in Cloverdale this afternoon, with lots of great wines, new and library.
2007 Peay Vineyards Roussanne/Marsanne Estate- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Tasted at winery open house. 2007 Roussanne/Marsanne - continues to be my favorite white wine from california, crisp, focused stone fruit with touches of persimmon, mineral, and spice, perfectly balanced. Great to drink now, but should be fascinating with a few years of age. 95 (95 pts.)
2007 Peay Vineyards Chardonnay Estate- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Tasted at winery open house. 2007 Chardonnay - very primary right now, comes across with a bit of Cali lushness, could maybe use a touch more acidity. Really a turnaround from just 6 months ago, when this wine showed much tighter, leaner, more mineral. probably just waiting to blossom, if the 04 is any indication, I’ll put this away for a few years and let it settle out of its youthful gyrations. 90-93 (90 pts.)
2004 Peay Vineyards Chardonnay Estate- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Tasted at winery open house. 2004 Chardonnay - oh my, this is deep and intense, showing great structure, amazing balance of acidity, touches of mineral and lemon on the finish. A Puligny ringer, drinking beautifully, but should age for 5+ years at least. 94 (94 pts.)
2007 Peay Vineyards Pinot Noir Scallop Shelf- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Tasted at winery open house. 2007 Pinot Scallop Shelf - shows plenty of lush dark cherry, hints of black tea, very nice balance, but so young it’s hard to judge. 90-92 (90 pts.)
2004 Peay Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Tasted at winery open house. 2004 Pinot - settling in nicely, some of the youth starting to meld into a beautifully smooth pinot, still a bit one-dimensional right now, give it a couple more years to start strutting. 90-93 (91 pts.)
2003 Peay Vineyards Syrah Estate- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Tasted at winery open house. 2003 Syrah - great stuff, nose is mushroom and earth, delicious deep, dark fruit, starting to shed it’s primary youthfulness, tannins beginning to resolve. Seems to be entering a nice drinking window. 93 (93 pts.)
2005 Peay Vineyards Syrah La Bruma- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Tasted at winery open house. 2005 Syrah La Bruma - What a difference a couple of years make. This wine was tight and lean on release more medium than full bodied, now it has filled out and mellowed just enough to start to show what it will become, a dark, intense well of rich fruit, beautifully balanced. 93-95 (93 pts.)
2007 Peay Vineyards Syrah La Bruma- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Tasted at winery open house. 2007 Syrah La Bruma - Wow, this is about as close to a Northern Rhone syrah as you might find in California, just oozing deep, dark fruit, with a big streak of red pomegranate running through, and blazing, lip-smacking acidity carrying through the finish This, and a couple of the 07/08 Copain Syrahs are in a class of their own. Phenomenal wine. 94-96 (94 pts.)
Thanks for the notes, Alan. Had hoped to make it to the open house but had to work today (racking some '08 Pinot to tank for bottling at Harrington Wines). Looks like the Peays opened some very nice library wines in addition to their current releases.
I had the 2007 Peay Vineyards Pinot Noir Scallop Shelf tonight at Spruce in San Francisco and a few weeks ago at Bacar. I think this wine really rocks. Very haunting nose with great balance of richness and acidity with laser focused fruit. I would rate it much higher than what you did: 92-93 points minimum. I think this wine could be a real super star with a few years of age on it.
i had a disappointing 2005 Les Titans this week with the weather turning colder. great @ first but after a few hours in a decanter it became a mish-mash. still a big fan.
Had hoped to make it to the open house but had to work today (racking some '08 Pinot to tank for bottling at Harrington Wines)
I felt so guilty about not helping that I drove done to Harrington after visiting Peay and Littorai, arriving just in time to help drink some wine and go out to dinner at Hard Knox. It’s all in the timing!
I was talking with Nick Peay at the start of the event about the harvest, and ended up getting a taste of a couple of new 2009 projects in tank. They took advantage of the unusual availability of reasonably priced fruit to make a couple of non-Estate wines. One is a Rose of pinot noir from fruit picked at lower ripeness and made as a rose (ie, pressed early rather than saignee). Even straight from the fermentation tank it has a pretty strawberry/cherry nose and crisp acidity. The other is a sauvignon blanc, made in a crisp, no-malo style. Both of these wines will be released next year, I’m assuming in the spring because they will be great summer wines.
Gene, CellerTracker doesn’t let me put a range on the score (which I did in the text of the note). I think I agree with you, just that right now it’s not showing anything like what I hope it will in a few years.
Cheers