Was back in KansasCity last week performing GrandPa duties (yeah...I know...I'm waaaay to young to have a GrandSon!!) and was given a head's up by Andy that he was doing a dinner at Krause Dining in Lawrence that Thurs night. So Susan & I met up w/ my major professor, who got me hooked on wine, and his wife; Ken & Sue Shultis.
The wines we had:
1. PeayVnyd Viognier '07: Pale yellow color; lovely fragrant pear/Viog minerally light oak perfumed low-key nose; very tart lovely clean/varietal/pear/Viog some chalky/minerally bit lean flavor; very long pear/Viog bit minerally finish; clean/crisp some minerally Viog; not a DollyParton for sure.
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2. PeayVnyd Chardonnay '04: Med.yellow color; strong toasty/tobaccoy exotic/nutty/gunpowder some floral/melony/minerally nose; soft nutty/hazelnutty some melony/minerally/Chard light toasty/pungent complex flavor; long toasty/nutty/tobaccoy some melong/Chard/minerally complex finish; developed that complex/tobaccoy old Chard character but still plenty of melony/Chard fruit.
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3. PeayVnyd Estate Chard '06: Light gold color; very perfumed/fragrant fresh/melony/Chard/floral light pencilly/oak some minerally/earthy slight yeasty nose; tart light pencilly/oak bright/melony/elegant/spicy/Chard some minerally/earthy/chalky aromatic flavor; very long/lingering floral/melony/Chard light pencilly/oak tart/minerally finish; an elegant/delicate/racy Chard almost like a Viog in its floral character.
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4. PeayVnyd Estate PinotNoir '04: Med.light color; very spicy/aromatic/perfumed Pinot/peppery bit meaty some cherry/bright/earthy complex nose; tart very spicy/peppery bright cherry/Pinot slight pencilly/toasty/tobaccoy complex flavor; very long very spicy/peppery light pencilly cherry/earthy/Pinot complex finish w/ light tannins; beautiful
mature Calif Pinot that will go a few more yrs yet.
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5. PeayVnyd ScallopShelf PinotNoir '06: Med.dark color; bright very spicy/cherry/black cherry/Pinot some toasty/pencilly/oak bit Burgundian beautiful/fragrant/perfumed nose; tart cherry/black cherry/Pinot/spicy some toasty/pencilly/Burgundian/oak slight earthy very cold-climate Pinot some minerally/chalky perfumed flavor; very long very spicy/cherry/Pinot light pencilly/toasty/oak bit Burgundian finish w/ modest tannins; lovely perfumed Pinot that needs anothe 2-6 yrs.
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6. PeayVnyd YoungVines Estate PinotNoir '07: Barrel sample. Very dark color; very strong black cherry/cherry/Pinot some earthy/mineally some toasty/charred/pencilly/oak nose; tart rich/lush strong black cherry/Pinot bit earthy some toasty/charred/oak riper more fruit flavor; long strong black cherry/Pinot/spicy/cherry some toasty/oak/pungent finish w/ some tannins; much more up-front/lush/black cherry fruit; needs time.
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7. PeayVnyd Syrah LaBruma '06: Very dark color; very intense cracked black pepper/blackberry/Syrah slight earthy/minerally light toasty/smokey/pungent/oak very fragrant complex nose; tart very perfumed/cracked black pepper/blackberry/Syrah rather floral/aromatic light pungent/oak bit tannic/structured very peppery flavor; very long/lingering intense cracked black pepper/spicy/blackberry/Syrah light pungent/oak slight earthy/minerally finish w/ some tannins; needs 3-6 yrs; very spicy/peppery exotic Syrah.
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I was very/very surprised to find that the Peay wines are actually sold in Kansas...about the last place in the USofA you'd expect to find any fine wines. Hey...this is the home of CarrieNation. However, one of the Wichita-based distributors has a wine guy, AaronMeeker, who doing an amazing job w/ fine wines. I was mightly impressed by his passion and knowledge. Kansas is very/very lucky. Mostly, his sales of these wines are to restaurants.
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2. KrauseDining: Andy assured me that I would be impressed by the meal. Big understatement. Robert & Molly Krause. He has experience at GaryDanko in the Bay area. Wanted to return to Kansas. The restaurant is out back/attachment to a frumpy house down in the industrial bottoms of Lawrence, just a stone's throw away from where I fence when I'm there. Totally unmarked. You knock on the door and tell them "Joe sent me" sort of place. But very modern inside. Like you're dining in NorthernSpain. Their WebSite (http://www.KrauseDining.com) seems absolutely devoid of content...that I could find anyway.
The food was absolutely spectacular..probably the best meal I ever done had in Kansas. Zac is supposed to e-mail me the menu, which I will post if he comes thru. But if you're in the KansasCity area....the 20 minute journey to KrauseDining in Lawrence is well worth it. Stunning food.
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3. PeayVnyd: I've followed Nick & Andy's work from the very start. Even made a visit there once and was blown away by the beauty of their vnyd...way the hell & gone up by Annapolis, on the SonomaCoast. It's a journey to get there...but well worth it. I like all of their wines, across the board, and buy hem every year. One of the very few Calif Chards I deign to buy. Their Syrah is what first sucked me in. Very classic/cold-climate Syrah. Their whites all have a wonderful aromaticity to them. Amazing wines, across the board. And mighty fine people, to boot.
Tom