2009 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast - 600 cases
Tasting Notes
The 2009 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay embodies all of the characteristics we love about Chardonnay from cool climates. It is crisp, elegant and vibrant. It has nerve and energy. It is enjoyable as an aperitif but shines at the table.
The Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is a blend of 60% estate fruit with 40% sourced fruit from Hirsch and Campbell vineyards. The nose reveals the wine’s youth and promise displaying aromas of dried pineapple, kiwi, lemon and limestone. The mouth bursts with strong mineral, ginger snap and apple flavors kept taut and focused by quite high, racy acidity. The finish has a biscuit, leesy finish that will become more pronounced as the wine ages and the fruit subsides. The Sonoma Coast is delicious and has all the qualities to age 3-5+ years but can be enjoyed upon release.
2009 Hirsch Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast - 40 cases
Tasting Notes
When you refer to someone located 10 miles and a 55-minute drive from your vineyard as a neighbor, you know you are in the hinterlands of the Sonoma Coast. We feel great affection for our neighbors, the Hirschs. We enjoy their wines and their company. As neighbors we are happy to extend them a cup of flour—or in 2009 a small press for white grapes —when they are in a bind during harvest. In exchange, we are happy to accept a little fruit for our efforts. The result is a non-estate, vineyard-designated, Peay wine, something that we had not done before except in 2006 when we made a Hirsch Chardonnay.
The 2009 Hirsch is a beautiful, elegant wine. This is not a blowsy, fat wine but emphasizes the direct and crisp style. The nose highlights wet slate, juniper berry and ripe almond notes. The mouth is very bright with the aromas persisting through to a long finish. The acidity is quite high and mouth-watering. It should age very well for at least 3-5 years. An excellent wine for those who prefer leaner, more mineral-driven, Chardonnay.
2008 Peay Vineyards Estate Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast
Tasting Notes
In 2008, we lost 60% of our Chardonnay crop to a late spring frost. Alas. With each vintage the Estate Chardonnay shows an increasing amount of minerality and site expression that the low yields only emphasized. It is a limestone or lime essence flavor in the mid-palate that provides tension and verve and can be found in all of our white wines regardless of variety.
The nose on the 2008 is quite youthful and shows ripe pear, lemon custard and hints of pineapple. The wine has a touch of richness on the front of the palate with yeast and hazelnut notes layering around a very pronounced streak of lime and limestone that bursts forward on the mid-palate. This intense minerality provides a racy edge and lingers on the palate. The wine is balanced, elegant and true to site. Decant for 15 minutes or back to bottle and age for 3-7 years for added complexity.
2007 Peay Vineyards Estate Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast
Tasting Notes
The 2007 is a blend of Dijon clones 76, 95, 96 and the Robert Young and Hyde selections. It was picked from September 23rd through October 6th, hand-sorted, aged in 45% new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered.
The appearance of the 2007 Estate Chardonnay is light, almost a pale straw. The nose is very focused with young coconut, lemon curd, Asian pear, and jasmine tea notes intermingled with gravel and chalk. The mouth is quite similar to the 2004 Estate Chardonnay and in our mind rivals the 2004 as our best to date. It is crisp, elegant and focused. A pure shot of Bosc pear, lanolin, peat and wet stone aromas coalesce on the mid-palate and linger. The natural acidity provides a refreshing and clean finish that will make it perfect at the table. The battonage and secondary fermentation notes are in the background, revealing a wine of distinct personality and vitality. There are very few chardonnays like this in the New World. 720 cases produced.
2006 Estate Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast
Tasting Notes
The 2006 Peay Vineyard Estate Chardonnay strikes a balance between the crisp 2004 and the fleshier 2005 Estate Chardonnays leaning more towards the style of the 2004. As our Chardonnay vines age a unique character and breed is evolving in the wines. The 2006 continues this progression.
The 2006 is a blend of clones 76, 95, 96 and the Robert Young and Hyde selections. It was picked from September 27th through October 10th, hand-sorted, aged in 42% new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered. The nose is focused with aromas of lemon and quince supported by limestone and flint contributed by the very low yielding Hyde and 76 clones. The wine opens on the front of the palate with lime, almond and golden delicious apples and as it carries across the palate broadens to become silky and creamy with hints of lemon curd and gun flint. The oak is very well-integrated at even this young age. The acid is clean and crisp and the finish long and lingering. I recommend aging the Estate Chardonnay for 2-3 years for the various features to gain cohesion. If you prefer more mature flavors the healthy acidity in the wine will allow further aging in bottle without losing vivacity. 885 cases produced.
2006 Peay Vineyards Hirsch Vineyard Chardonnay
Tasting Notes
The Hirsch Chardonnay is made from an old Wente selection picked from September 26th to September 30th. The fruit was hand sorted, aged for eleven months in 50% new French oak, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. The nose is full with hay, clove, apple and peach aromas and a lingering whiff of gunpowder. The mouth is medium-to-full-bodied with a broad, fleshy mid-palate kept in line by good minerality and refreshing acidity. Aromas of maple, green papaya and pear develop as the wine opens. This Chardonnay is best drunk 6 months to 2 years from release to best appreciate the freshness of the fruit expression. 335 cases produced.
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