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What We Say 2008 Vignobles Red Wine
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Mission Codename: Let the wine do the talking
Operative: Agent White
Objective: Return to Operative favorite, Peterson Winery and acquire an allocation of their second vintage of their Vignobles Rhone inspired blend..
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Peterson Winery
Wine Subject: 2008 Vignobles Red Wine – Petite Sirah, Carignan, Syrah and Zinfandel Blend
Winemaker: Jamie Peterson
Backgrounder:
Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley is a treasure trove of great wines. While The Wine Spies have been trying to keep from acquiring too many wines from the region when the wines are great, so why not? Peterson Winery’s motto of Burly Not Girly wines is in full display in this unique and delicious Rhone inspired blend that is 55% Petite Sirah, 15% Carignan, 15% Syrah and 15% Zinfandel that is aged in a blend of new and aged oak.
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Nearly black, this dark and dense wine has purple and garnet hues that grace its barely clear inky core. Along the edges, the deep garnet color is more apparent and when swirled slow pin thin legs ring the glass.
Smell – Rich, ripe and spicy black fruit invite you in and are followed by meaty leather, toasted oak and a blend of spices that are layered upon earthy undergrowth aromas.
Feel – Very smooth and ripe, this creamy full bodied wine is expansive on the palate with firm, finely grained tannins and abundant minerality. A touch of spice at mid-palate and its soft acidity contributes to its chewy and generous mouth-feel.
Taste – Abundant flavors of dark ripe and rich black fruit including dark plum, black cherry and blackberry blend with earthy notes, a soft leather component, sweet spice and toasted oak.
Finish – Medium in length with this wines rich dark fruit fading first leaving behind hints of its ripe character as the powder textured minerals and other complex flavors linger on.
Conclusion – The 2008 Peterson Winery Vignobles Red Wine is a remarkable smooth wine that fills the nose and palate with great dark black fruit and other complex aromas and flavors. Rich, approachable and pleasant, this wine is certainly a crowd pleaser. We paired this wine with home-made baked lasagna but this wine would also pair with good friends relaxing in front of the camp fire. Enjoy now or cellar for up to five years.
Mission Report:
Winemaker, Jamie Peterson, proved to be too illusive for an interview, this time around. Please check back for a compete interview, the next time we sell another great Peterson wine!
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The location of the Peterson Winery can be seen in this satellite photo.
What the Winery Says
Peterson
About This Wine:
Enticing deep-set aromas offer up dark mixed berries, toasty oak notes and a blend of earth, leather and mineral essence. Deliciously balanced with a robust, inky mouthfeel, slightly chewy tannins and rich, intense favors that provide an abundant taste sensation. Concentrated spicy berry—blackberry, cherry and blueberry—mix with creamy dark chocolate with a hint of strawberry, which coalesce into a big and broad finish. This powerful, full-favored wine is remarkably approachable now, and will mellow with additional bottle aging. Try it with slow-smoked meats, tomato-based pasta dishes or a big hunk of chocolate fudge cake with a luscious berry sauce.
Fred’s (Peterson) Vintaged View: In the 90’s, we bottled a Rhone-inspired blend that we called “Vignobles,” the French word for vines/vineyards. This is our second vintage since Vignobles’ resurrection, and we are extremely pleased with the results.
With 55% of the blend being Petite Sirah, the 2008 Vignobles is a wine for those that crave big and juicy. The addition of 15% each Carignane, Zinfandel and Syrah enhances the spiciness and complexity, but does very little to diminish the overwhelming Petite Sirah-ness
of the wine.
Definitely not a wine for those seeking subtlety or nuance, but perfect for those occasions that call for the wine to do most of the talking.
Primary Vineyards: West Vineyard is an 80-year-old dry-farmed, head-trained vineyard on a hillside in the southeast corner of Dry Creek Valley. This vineyard provides grapes for other Peterson wines, most notably our Tradizionale Zinfandel. When we tasted the 2008 Petite Sirah grapes from West Vineyard, we knew they would be a perfect fit for our robust-styled Vignobles.
About Peterson Winery:
We are located in the Dry Creek Valley, in the northwest region of Sonoma County. Peterson Winery’s new tasting room is now open for wine tasting and sales daily 11am-4:30pm. We often pour our wines at local tasting and charity events as well. Check for upcoming events on the News & Events page.
Our wines are also available for tasting at the “LOCALS” tasting room in Geyserville. See tastelocalwines.com for directions and details. Click on the “Find Us” link for a map to the winery and to LOCALS in Geyserville.
If you have any questions about Peterson Winery or our wines, send us an e-mail at friends@petersonwinery.com and we’ll respond as soon as we can.
We can’t tell our whole story here, but we hope that by looking at a few photos and reading a bit more about us, you’ll find out who we are and why we love to make great wines.
About The Winemaker:
Jamie Peterson – It’s not by coincidence that I’m the winemaker at Peterson Winery. I’ve been helping my father at the winery for the past ten years, back to the days of labeling the bottles by hand. I worked two harvests here at the winery, in 2000 and 2001, and the 2001 harvests Down Under in Australia at Lowe Family Winery, and then in New Zealand, at Ngatarawa Winery. With this solid base of experience, much to my excitement I was given the opportunity of taking over winemaking duties in June 2002, and have been loving it ever since.
Overseeing the quality of the wine from when the grapes come in all the way through to the bottle is my main responsibility and priority. Since it’s just my father and I, this keeps me pretty busy, but when I’m not checking up on barrels or wrestling with the bottling equipment, you can often find me at one the numerous tasting events we attend, whether it is for charity or for the love of wine. In my free time, I’ve started a Peterson Winery softball team with my friends here in Healdsburg. I also enjoy cooking, foraging for local culinary mushrooms, reading, and am a Giants baseball fan. Continuing winemaking tradition of Zero Manipulation.
Technical Analysis:
Composition: 55% Petite Sirah West Vineyard Sept. 17, 2008; 15% Carignane Forchini Vineyard Sept. 6 & 11, 2008; 15% Syrah Olson Vineyard Sept. 30, 2008; 15% Zinfandel Borkow Vineyard Sept. 1 & 11, 2008;
Appellation: Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, CA
Alcohol: 14.5%
pH: 3.69
TA: 0.68/100ml
Barrel Aging: 22 months
Types of Oak: 55% new American oak barrels, 15% new Hungarian oak barrels, 30% 4-7-year-old, neutral French and American oak barrels.
Bottling Date: August 11, 2010 (unfined & unfiltered)
Production: 175 cases
Release Date: May 2011
