Tasting Notes for Clos Pepe Estate Wines

2000-2004 Vintages

Clos Pepe Estate Wines, 2000-2004 Vintages

2004 Vintage

2004 Clos Pepe Estate Chardonnay (Sold Out)

Not only does the wine have no oak influence (made in small stainless casks), we picked it less ripe to make a finished wine right at 13+% alcohol. What emerges is the most food friendly and elegant white we've ever made. Match it with cheese, fish or seafood, sushi, oysters.. Truly, a rarity in California Chardonnay. We invite you to throw a bottle into a blind tasting with Burgundies or Chablis wines and see how it performs. Less ripe WILL be the future of California Wines, so taste the Future now!

2004 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir

A sleek and sexy wine, the 2004 benefited from a rare combination of full ripeness and excellent acidity. You will certainly smell the characteristic explosion of black and berry fruits in the nose, but plan to be surprised by the fantastic level of tartness and acidity that is evident in the structure of the 2004 Pinot Noir. Good acid in a Pinot Noir makes it a fantastic dining accompaniment, and this wine will match with everything from salmon to elk tenderloin. As usual, we believe 5 years in the bottle will be a rule of thumb for Clos Pepe Pinot Noirs. Blend of 115 and 667 Clones from hillside plantings. 14.4% alcohol and 1/3 new French oak barrels for 11 months.

2004 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir ‘Vigneron Select’ (Sold Out)

The best balanced out of 32 barrels, it was hard to pick the 'best barrel' of the vintage out of so many gems. This one came from a brand new Seguin Moreau barrel (French Oak), and is anything but overoaked. The wine is fruity, harmonious, and vineyard-driven. Expect a touch more richness and pedigree (complexity) than the blended, 'normal' bottling. Also expect this wine to age 5-9 years in a properly maintained cellar.

2003 Vintage

2003 Clos Pepe Estate Chardonnay (Sold Out)

'In 2003, the 'Homage to Chablis' program gets back to its roots.  The 2003 is a more traditional rendering of our stainless-steel and neutral oak Chardonnay.  The wine has a very complex nose of wet stones, apple, grapefruit, pear, oyster shell/sea spray and hints of hazelnut and pineapple/guava.  The wine has huge concentration but manages to keep a balance that makes it food friendly.  Think of it as a wine with a Chablis frame showing off a Santa Rita Hills landscape.  From early tasting and how this wine has developed, this may be the best 'Homage' to date for those that like the flinty, minerally quality in a wine with very good fruit length and vibrant acidity.  Those who prefer young and vibrant whites can drink it from release until 2007.  Those who prefer their white wines fully mature may want to wait until 2007 to 2009 to pop their bottles.  As always, no new oak.  The focus here is the flavor of the vineyard.  150 cases produced.’   ---WDH

2003 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir (92 Points WS) (Sold Out)

2003 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir 'Vigneron Select' (Sold Out)

The ‘Vigneron Select’ (or V.S.) is our choice of the best single barrel produced for the vintage.  Only 23 cases were produced, and this wine was hand-racked and bottled from a new Remond French Oak Barrel from the Troncais forest.  This wine needs a bit more time in the cellar to come together and reach its peak.  100% new French Oak.  Drink from 2007-2012.’  --WDH

2002 Vintage

Clos Pepe Estate Chardonnay 2002 (91 Points Wine Enthusiast) (Sold Out)

Rich pear, nectarine, hazelnut and tropical notes in the nose, excellent purity and sweetness on the attack, and surprisingly vibrant acidity and Clos Pepe mineral pedigree in the finish.  A wonderful balance of full-bore California ripeness and a finish that hints of the minerals and structure of a Chablis or White Burgundy.  As always, no new oak.  Fermented in stainless steel 'barrels', sur lies, and finished in neutral 7 year old+ French Oak.  Bottled with about half a percent of residual sugar and at 60% malolactic fermentation, this wine is a bit of a departure for our 'HtC' program, but we're thrilled by the result and by the reviews we've received.  Expect greatness.  $25

Clos Pepe Estate 2002 Pinot Noir (91 Points Wine Spectator) (Sold Out)

The greatest vintage of Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir to date.  From tiny yields in the 2002 vintage, between 3/4 of a ton to 1 ton per acre, this wine is a dark, rich, structured version of pure Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir.  Packing tons of mineral and spice-infused dark berry fruit, this wine is unusually generous and delicious in its youth, but certainly has the guts and the structure to go five years in a cellar with no problem at all.  The nose offers up excellent fruit purity, with blackberry, blueberry and cassis.  The wine shows excellent weight and glass-emptying charm--a dark purple color and a balanced tannin structure that's impressive and softer than one might imagine for a wine with such dense color and extract.  The tannins are fine, and I expect this wine to be wonderfully silky and supple with a few years of patient cellaring.  228 cases produced.  $35 retail from the winery.

Clos Pepe Estate 2002 Pinot Noir 'Vigneron Select' (Sold Out)

Each year Steve Pepe, Chanda and Wes Hagen taste all of our Pinot Noir barrels blind and come to a consensus on which single barrel best represents the vineyard and the vintage.  We then bottle that barrel by itself, usually around 22 cases, and allow each of our customers to purchase a single bottle.  This year's Vigneron Select comes from a new Francois Frerer medium toast barrel from the Bertranges forest in France.  Expect a mouthful.  The wine offers up tons of spice and game-infused blackberry, blueberry and strawberry aromas, as well as amazing richness, color and weight.  A little more new oak will allow this wine to age exceptionally well over the next 5-10 years in a properly maintained cellar.  Patience will be rewarded.  Vigneron Select: $40 retail from the winery.  Extremely limited.

2001 Vintage

Clos Pepe Estate 2001 Chardonnay 'Hommage to Chablis' (Sold Out)

Clos Pepe Estate 2001 Chardonnay 'Homage to Chablis'

Medium to light straw in color, clear in the glass.  Nose exhibits a complex array of apple, pear, grapefruit, chalk, minerals and hazelnuts with a hint of creamy lime blossom.  The wine is powerful and weighty in the mouth, showing excellent concentration and acidity.  An excellent balance exists in this wine between the austere (high acid and mineral content) and malolactic characters (nutty and creamy notes).  This wine was fermented and aged in small stainless steel casks that were stirred, in the sur lies style.  Expect this wine to soften and gain complexity in a cellar for 2-5 years.  I suspect it will peak in 2004-2005.  70 cases made, picked in the second week of October, 2001, 11 months in steel barrel, 100% malolactic.  $25 direct from the winery starting 1/1/03 for February delivery.  Try this wine with Oysters, linguine with clams, soft or fully ripened French or Spanish cheeses, scallops in a cream sauce, or any dish that is complemented by a highly mineral, structured white.  This wine is made from the Wente clone of Chardonnay on the steep, Western hillsides of Clos Pepe.

Clos Pepe Estate 2001 Chardonnay 'Barrel Fermented' (89 Points Wine Enthusiast) (Sold Out)

Clos Pepe Estate 2001 Chardonnay 'Barrel Fermented'

I have always said that white wine is like foreplay -- it's nice by itself, but better when it leads to red.  The low-yield, sustainably farmed Chardonnay grapes really shine through in this wine.  It is quite Chablisian in style... chock full of minerals, good acidity, with an added layer of malolactic complexity.  There's little oak here, (all barrels were 6 years older or more) but there are ML+, barrel fermented aromas and esters: butterscotch, lime-blossomy-crŠme brulee, wet stones as well as pear, apple, pineapple and grapefruit lurking in there as well.  This wine spent 11 months in neutral French oak, was harvested the second week of October, and spent 5 months in a nice, cool cellar before release.  Expect it to peak in a few years, from 2003-2005.  100% malolactic.  $20 direct from the winery starting 1/1/03 for February delivery.  Try this wine with sand dabs in a lemon-cream sauce, lobster with drawn butter, blue cheese, or fried chicken.  This wine is a blend of the Wente clone and the '4' clone of Chardonnay from the Western hillsides and the area around the Clos Pepe pond (which has now been grafted over to Pinot Noir)

Clos Pepe Estate 2001 Chardonnay 'Sweet Farewell' (For Sale in Store)

Clos Pepe Estate 2001 Chardonnay 'Sweet Farewell'

Our first dessert wine, harvested after the Chardonnay clusters had been inundated with the same Botrytis that concentrates the dessert wines of Sauternes.  Offering forth gobs of sweet and enticing aromatics: super-ripe pears, tangerine and ripe orange, with tropical hints and amazing intensity, this wine was harvested VERY late (covered in the noble rot called Botrytis) in January 2002.  This wine is packaged in clear, Bordeaux style -splits' (375ml), and is recommended with sweeter sushi dishes, with dessert, or as an appertif or a 'jacuzzi wine'.  Starts sweet and viscous, finishes with excellent grip and acidity, with enough sugar to be pleasantly sweet, not sticky, allowing the mineral charm and elegance to shine through in the finish.  The wine is called 'Sweet Farewell' because we chose to graft the Chardonnay vines over to Pinot Noir after harvesting these grapes for dessert wine.  This is a one year program, and I suspect we will not be making another dessert wine for many years, or until we run out of the sweet stuff and I'm fiending for more.  $20 direct from the winery, starting 1/1/03 for late February delivery.

Clos Pepe Estate 2001 Pinot Noir (Sold Out)

Clos Pepe Estate 2001 Pinot Noir

Medium to medium plus garnet-color in the glass, good clarity.  Nose is quite complex and inviting, showing a nice balance of black cherry, strawberry, and blackberry fruit, framed by chalky, clean earth, clean saddle-leather, and a suggestion of Francois Frerer oak from the Allier forest.  This wine is a powerhouse, still very young and impetuous, suggesting that the wine needs a year or two in cellar to calm itself and soften.  As it tastes today (11/02), the wine is muscular and complex, with fantastic intensity in the mouth, very fruity and rich on the attack, with excellent acidity and soft oak tannin in the chalky, mineral-infused, blackberry finish.  Better intensity than the 2000 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir, but a bit more closed up[ at release, not quite as soft or effusively fruity, more masculine, and will require a little extra time in the cellar to reach its peak.  Harvested late September, 2001, 10-14 days on the skins during fermentation, pressed at 3-4 brix into barrel, where fermentation finished.  This wine is meant to be aged 3-10 years in a cellar before consumption, and I suspect it will reach perfect 'drinkability' between 2005-2010.  200 cases made.  $35 direct from the winery, starting 1/1/03 for late February delivery.  This wine will prove to be very versatile at table, where it was crafted to be enjoyed.  It will match wonderfully with any grilled meat, from chicken to lamb, matches well with steaks, salmon, cheeses, or any other food that matches well with a masculine, intense Pinot Noir.  This is a great wine to carry into a restuarant, as it will match most main courses.

Clos Pepe Estate 2001 Pinot Noir 'Vigneron Select' (Sold Out)

Clos Pepe Estate 2001 Pinot Noir, Vigneron Select

The Vigneron Select from 2001 is a true single-barrel wine, bottled separately, a meager twenty-two case production (only 264 bottles produced, which in my estimation makes a true reserve wine).  The barrel was chosen by taking notes and rating the 10 barrels of Pinot that we made in 2001 throughout the year, and deciding by vote which barrel was the absolute finest.  It is easy to admit that this was a difficult task in 2001, as all the barrels had the charm of a classic growing year.  The final decision was made the week before bottling, and this year's 'VS' wine was taken from a brand new Francois Frerer barrel coopered with staves from the Allier forest.  Last year's 'VS' came from a mostly neutral barrel, so it is interesting to taste the two wines side-by-side.  There is no doubt that the 'juice' soaked up the oak admirably and blackberry, strawberry, black-cherry and mineral-infused elegance shines through the woody, toasty, bacony aromas imparted by the cooperage.  This is a huge wine meant to live at least 3-5 years in the cellar before consumption.  I recommend cellaring it until at least 2004 before popping the cork.  22 cases made, harvested in late September, similar fermentation regime to the regular bottling.  $40 direct from the winery, starting 1/1/03 for late February delivery.  Matches with any foods mentioned in the notes for the regular Pinot Noir bottling.  I really like this wine with strong, fully ripened cheeses.

2000 Vintage

Clos Pepe Estate 2000 Chardonnay (Sold Out)

Clos Pepe Estate 2000 Chardonnay 'Homage to Chablis'