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What We Say 2008 "1-2-3 Cab" Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Operative’s Choice:
Top QPR Cabernet Sauvignon
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Mission Codename: 1, 2, 3, Let’s Go!
Operative: Agent White
Objective: Return to Peterson Winery and retrieve a Cab that is perfect for every day enjoyment.
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Peterson Winery
Wine Subject: 2008 “1-2-3 Cab” Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
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? Today’s selection is a delicious 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Collier Falls Vineyard and was aged 21 months in 25% new American oak barrels, 75% 3-6 year-old neutral French and American oak barrels
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Deep and dark ruby with garnet hues and tints through its dense but clear core. Along the edges the color lightens only slightly to deep ruby red. When swirled, tightly spaced slow thin legs hang before descending to the wine below.
Smell – Deep and rich aromas of dark black and red berries blend with a touch of cherry liqueur along with cedar box and toasted oak. Soft earth, sweet spice, cocoa and fresh anise blend to provide approachable complexity.
Feel – Smooth, rich and expansive on the palate, this dry and full-bodied wine has well developed, chewy but finely grained medium tannins and balanced acidity along with a softly textured mineral mouthfeel that lasts long into the finish.
Taste – Fresh and ripe black cherry, blackberry, and other sweet dark fruit linger with cedar cigar box and toasted oak notes. Sweet spice and soft black licorice blend with dark mocha and soft earthy notes.
Finish – Long, soft and ripe dark fruit lingers over the well developed tannins and soft mineral texture as the other complex flavors gently fade leaving behind hints of fruit and toasted oak.
Conclusion – The 2008 Peterson Winery “1-2-3 Cab” Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a lovely Cab that is both sturdy and flavorful but also plush, soft and rich. Pleasant, approachable and very easy to drink. Pair this fun wine with anything from simple burgers, pasta with meat sauce or anywhere a softer Cabernet suits your palate. Enjoy this wine tonight or cellar for up to five years to see how it evolves.
Mission Report:
_With the 2011 harvest underway, we were unable to enjoy our usual sit-down with Jamie Peterson. Tune in, next time we show another fantastic Peterson Winery wine, and we’ll be sure to present you with a complete interview.
WINEMAKER INTEL BRIEFING DOSSIER
SUBJECT: Jamie Peterson
DATE OF BIRTH: March 20, 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH: Saratoga, CA (Mt. Eden Vineyards)
WINE EDUCATION: Ongoing, on-the-job. UC Davis Extension chemistry/lab analysis/viticulture classes.
CALIFORNIA WINE JOB BRIEF: Grew up in Peterson Winery, helping with odd jobs in the winery and vineyard as a teenager. Worked first harvest at 19, and then traveled to Australia and New Zealand to work harvest in 2001. took over as Assistant Winemaker at Peterson Winery in 2002. Given full Winemaker responsibility in 2006. 13 harvests under the belt at age 29.
WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY: “Zero Manipulation”/Minimal intervention, letting the vineyard and vintage show through in each bottling. No fining, no filtration. Minimal new oak usage, minimal additions and SO2 use.
SIGNATURE VARIETAL: Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (but his Syrah is amazing)
WINEMAKER QUOTE: ”If it ain’t got the root, it ain’t got the fruit.”
FIRST COMMERCIAL WINE RELEASE: For Peterson Winery- 1991. For Jamie- 2002 Vintage, released in 2004
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:
Inviting dark cherry and blackberry aromas blend with the essence of tightly wound cedar and oak notes. The smooth yet spicy texture reveals juicy favors of bright cherry, ripe blackberry, cassis and forest floor. A light dusting of cocoa appears mid-palate and expands across the spicy finish as the favors merge.
Unburdened by the heavy tannins and high acidity generally found in Cabernet, this easy drinking Cab can be enjoyed with appetizers or a meal. It is also a good match for those occasions when you put your feet up to enjoy a good book, a movie or the company of friends.
About The Vineyard: Collier Falls Vineyard – This vineyard sits on a hillside in the northwest corner of Dry Creek Valley. Te rocky clay soil and steep slopes of the vineyard provides excellent drainage for the vines, leading to lower yields. Reduced yields means smaller berries with more intense color and favor. Te sunny days and cool nights the hillside sees above the valley fog adds to the intensity, with higher acid/lower pH fruit.
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged View: Sometimes an opportunity for great quality fruit at a reasonable price comes along, and it’s too good to pass up. We don’t always have a marketing plan before we start the project, but we fgure we’ll come up with a label down the road with a little inspiration, improvisation, and the help of our clever designer, Chris Blum.
For our second vintage of the Cab 1-2-3, we worked with neighbor grower Barry Collier to produce a tasty, easy drinking hillside Cabernet Sauvignon. Made in the same manner as all our other reds—with our Zero Manipulation philosophy as the guide—this wine is a fruit-forward Cabernet Sauvignon. Give it a chance and take home a bottle or a case—it’s easy as 1-2-3…
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: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon – Collier Falls Vineyard
Appellation: Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
Alcohol: 14.6%
pH: 3.51
TA: 0.64g/100ml
Barrel Aging: 21 Months
Types of Oak: 25% new American oak barrels, 75% 3-6 year-old neutral French and American oak barrels
Bottling Date: July 8, 2010 (unftered & unfned)
Production: 143 Cases
Release Date: May 2011
