2020 Peay Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

We haven't made a single Estate Pinot noir drawing from all of our 35 acres of Pinot noir since the 2004 vintage. It was abundantly clear as Vanessa tasted the barrels which blocks were very strong and which were not. She immediately decided to make only one Estate Pinot noir, not three, to be certain that the wine met our high standards of quality.

This wine taste neither like Scallop Shelf, nor Pomarium, nor Ama, for it has wines from blocks that go into all three cuvées. The blood orange and Aperol quality of Scallop Shelf is perceptible in the aroma with hérbes de Provence and garrigue often found in Pomarium. The Bing cherry notes come to the fore as you sip the wine, an aroma I consider an Ama quality, adding a raspberry note as the wine moves to the back of the mouth. Despite the heat the wine is impeccably balanced with moderate alcohol and fresh acidity. The red fruit oriented mid-palate is framed by savory sage notes with some cocoa powder on the finish. We did not use any new oak barrels—or whole cluster—in the 2020 red wines and, as a result, the wine is approachable upon release and will be for at least the next 5+ years.