welcome to Papapietro Perry
Some of the WC headed back to our favorite wine stomping-ground last weekend, Dry Creek Valley near Healdsburg. We’d been to Papapietro Perry a few years before and loved their exciting pinot noirs (or is it pinots noirs?) Anyway, this visit, our dear friend, Callie, was here for a spell; and since we’d just been to Pride and Rutherford Hill, it made sense to try some of “the other red.”
Actually, Papapietro Perry (the name’s a mouthful, no? It comes from the two family names of the winemaking couples) makes critically acclaimed pinot noir and zinfandel, that last, a Dry Creek specialty. Most of the grapes are sourced from various growers in Russian River, Anderson and Dry Creek Valleys. We went there specifically because I’d read the day before in the recent Wine Spectator glowing reviews about these wines. And having tasted them ourselves, we have to agree.
old wine barrels and grapes on the vine near the Papapietro Perry tasting room
Papapietro Perry routinely makes prize winning wines
The tasting room is co-located with a number of other small wineries in the area. That makes things convenient if you’re ready to try several producers all at once. The day that we were there it was very hot: at least 92 degrees, so we were glad to get into the welcoming coolness of Papapietro Perry. Jim offered the wines. There’s a $5 fee to taste, whether or not you buy, though tasting’s free for club members. They offered four wines plus had a few additional ones to try, as they were already open. We liked them so well that we bought a few bottles and even splurged on a magnum. Callie almost joined the wine club but inexplicably backed out with some absurd excuse that nobody but her would drink the wine and it would go to waste. Now really! Does that ever happen in real life? No, I don’t think so, either.
2008 Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Peters Vineyard: This was pale yellow with a floral nose with hints of lemon and apple. It tasted of “spring” with citrus and yummy tropical fruit. Delish!
2007 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley: This wine was blended from grapes grown in five separate vineyards. It was a transparent pale red. Hegui thought it had a sort-of typical barnyard aroma though I couldn’t detect much, as usual. We tasted red fruit and mineral notes. The really long finish was delightful. Very good!
what can be better than grapes on the vine on a sunny day?
2007 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Leras Family Vineyard: This was a transparent pale red with a smoky nose. We tasted sour cherry and some earthiness with a bit of caramel on the end. Quite different from the last, it had a less dramatic finish, though was still quite good.
2007 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, Charles River: This comes from the part of Anderson Valley in Mendocino County. It was a transparent red but less pale than the others. Jim thought that it tasted a bit “more Burgundian” too. It smelled “mulchy” to Hegui. The wine tasted “thicker” with more depth of flavor than the others with good balance, fruit and earthiness. This is the wine that I got a magnum of to enjoy on a special occasion sometime.
2007 Zinfandel, Russian River Valley, Elsbree Vineyard: This wine was a transparent red with a nose of caramel, spice box and toffee. We noted plum and other dark fruit, clove with caramel rounding it out. The wine had a creamy texture that was not overbearing. Very good.
2007 Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Pauline’s Vineyard: This was a transparent red with not much nose beyond “alcohol.” Lots of raspberry on the attack with pepper and sour cherry on the finish.
enjoying some Papapietro Perry pinot noir
some Papapietro Perry souvenirs
words to live by from a shop in Palo Alto
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I could live drinking nothing but these wines! They were heavenly. If I make it back there again, I’m definitely joining the wine club.