93
points
Pey-Marin 2009 The Shell Mound Riesling (Marin County)
- Editors' Choice
- Online Exclusive
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$26
Pey-Marin’s Rieslings have been among the greatest in California, and their 2009 is one of their best yet. The wine is entirely unoaked, and did not undergo the malolactic fermentation, but it was aged on its lees. That allows the acidity to star, and what brilliant acidity it is. Rich and bone dry in steel, mineral, slate, citrus, white peach and Champagne yeast…
— S.H.
(2/1/2011)
92
points
Pey-Marin 2007 The Shell Mound Riesling (Marin County)
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$24
This was one of the best Rieslings of the year last vintage, and the ’07 is even better. It’s absolutely dry and superbly racy. Acidity, at .82, is one of the highest I’ve seen in years. Balancing that is a broad, complex array of citrus, peach, apple, flower, petrol, mineral and spice flavors. If California Riesling is making a comeback, it’s because of wines like this.
— S.H.
(12/1/2008)
91
points
Pey-Marin 2005 Trois Filles Pinot Noir (Marin County)
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$39
You’re going to be hearing a lot more about Pinots from Marin County, which is between Sonoma and San Francisco. It’s cool-climate, as witnessed by the crunchy acidity that accompanies the cola, cherry and blackberry flavors of this three-vineyard wine. There’s a lot of oak, but it works well. Shows the leaner, more elegant side of Pinot.
— S.H.
(10/1/2007)
91
points
Pey-Marin 2006 The Shell Mound Riesling (Marin County)
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$22
The grapes barely got ripe in this vineyard in chilly Marin, just north of the Golden Gate. The numbers tell the story. Acidity is .082 grams, alcohol is 11.8%, there’s no oak, and the wine was stirred on the lees for five months. The result is an impressive Riesling, one of the driest on the market, a wine of great delicacy and subtlety. Fruit isn’t the star here;…
— S.H.
(9/1/2007)