Brawny and a bit rowdy, this wine isn’t what you’d grab when you’re looking for elegant sophistication. But, it’s perfect for when you want a big wine that’s ready to sip. The intense, concentrated flavors, bathed in buoyant acidity, fill the palate with juicy red fruit. Think dried cherry, rhubarb, pomegranate and bright raspberry merged with traces of plum, blackberry, violet, caramel and earthy oak. So much going on in this hearty beast, but just sip away and enjoy!
Pair with your favorite robust cuisine, like a juicy rare steak served with garlic fries, or Mexican pork stew with fresh corn tortillas.
Vintage Notes
Long time Peterson wine devotees might fondly recall the original Peterson Barbera that we produced from 1994 through 1998. The grapes came from a small block of Barbera that I planted in 1989 on the “bench” overlooking our red barn winery on the Norton Ranch. Though we never produced much of this Barbera, it was a wine we loved to grow and make (as well as drink), and it developed a fervent following among our customers. Over the last 20 years working with Alvin Tollini, I’ve come to respect his abilities as a grower and the suitability of his properties for producing intense, yet balanced red wines. When Alvin mentioned to me that he had a field on “Granddad’s Ranch” that he was ready to plant, I immediately thought of Barbera. I believed the site’s gravelly, well-drained red clay soil could produce a worthy successor to the Norton Ranch Barbera.
The 2015 is our seventh vintage from this block. As a 100% varietal from Tollini Vineyard, it truly showcases what the grape is capable of when grown in the right location. This wine hits the high notes, with power and depth behind it, and a purity and clarity one would expect from this ancient varietal.
Salute!
Specs
Vintage: 2015
Composition: 100% Barbera
Appellation: Tollini Vineyard, Redwood Valley, Mendocino
Alcohol: 13.9%
pH: 3.30
TA: 0.78g/100ml
Barrel Aging: 27 months
Cooperage: 100% neutral oak barrels
Bottling Date: January 31st, 2018
Closure type: Screwcap - Ramondin - saranex liner
Production: 275 cases 750ml
Release Date: August 2020
2015 Zero Manipulation Red Wine, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino Blend
Tasting Notes
Aromas of fresh black cherry, brambly blackberry and dried strawberry are threaded with hints of mineral and earthen notes. Rich, dark, slightly chewy flavors create a robust yet easy sipping wine. A luscious mix of cherry, black raspberry and coffee merge with just the right balance of oak and tannins. As this Rhone-style blend lingers on the palate, you’ll wonder if you are enjoying a wine at twice the price.
The perfect wine to grab for sipping with burgers, pizza, pasta or enchiladas, and it also pairs well with garlic grilled flank steak or lamb chili.
Vintage Notes
Our Zero Manipulation is blended using 100% Tollini Vineyard fruit, and is the first in our line of wines honoring this great vineyard and farmer/friend to the north. We’ve produced Zero every year since 2000 using old vine Carignane as the dominant varietal, and in 2015 it makes up 58% of the blend. From this core of spicy, zippy red fruit flavors, we’ve added layers of depth, complexity and balance with Grenache, Syrah and Petite Sirah. Our goal in the blend is to create a wine that is a true bistro wine—tasty, food friendly, full of soul and almost refreshing, without ever becoming heavy. As our original t-shirt proclaimed, this wine is always “easy to use and cheap to operate.”
Zero Manipulation is the winemaking philosophy that we employ on all of our wines. Our definition of Zero Manipulation is using the gentlest winemaking techniques possible to maximize flavors, aromas and the original essence of the grapes from the given vineyard and vintage. The less you do in the course of a wine’s tenure in the cellar, the more of the grape’s, vineyard’s, and vintage’s essence you’ll have to bottle. Every time you do something to a wine, you take out a little of what you started with. We endeavor to share with you as much of the grapes true essence in every bottle; naturally, sustainably, and with a mind to being easy on your wallet.
Vineyard Notes
The traditional head trained, dry farmed Carignane blocks were planted by Alvin Tollini’s father and grandfather. The Syrah and Grenache were planted by Alvin with the same time-honored techniques and sustainable approach. All sit on southwest facing benches in the Redwood Valley.
Specs
Vintage: 2015
Composition: 100% Tollini Vineyard
Varietal Breakdown:
Harvest Dates:
58% Carignane Sept. 30
23% Grenache Sept. 19 & Oct. 5
15% Syrah Sept. 7
4% Petite Sirah Sept. 15
Appellation: Redwood Valley, Mendocino County
Alcohol: 14.8%
pH: 3.55
TA: 0.67g/100ml
Barrel Aging: 27 months
Cooperage: 100% neutral oak barrels
Bottling Date: January 31, 2018 (unfined & unfiltered)
This playful, seemingly simple wine is easy to sip, yet filled with delicious layers, depth and complexity. The nose offers aromas of fresh-squeezed black raspberry laced with toasted oak and traces of leather. A tantalizing, juicy blend of plum, dried strawberry and blackberry mix with subtle autumn spices and black pepper. A bright essence appears mid-palate adding to the playful effect of the wine. Gentle tannins and oak notes exposed in the long finish reveal the underlying structure that perfectly balances the luscious flavors.
Pairing opportunities are endless, so to name a few, try our Mendo Blendo with smoked brisket served with a Kansas City barbeque sauce, three cheese lasagna, or your favorite chili sprinkled with sharp cheddar and chopped scallions.
Vintage Notes
Our Mendo Blendo reflects the two realities inherent in all interesting wines: place and people. The place being Mendocino County and the people (besides Jamie and myself) being Alvin and Sally Tollini, who grew the grapes that produced this wine. Though we would never trade living in and producing wines from Dry Creek Valley, I’ve always enjoyed Mendocino County and its wines. Mendocino County winegrowing is an important part of my history. I began my winegrowing career in December 1973 as a vineyard worker for Frey Vineyards in Mendocino’s Redwood Valley. We began producing our Zero Manipulation wine from the Tollini’s Home Ranch “Wild Vines” Carignane in 2000, and have produced it every year since. Alvin Tollini is a third-generation Redwood Valley grower and a wonderful person, as well as an exceptional grape grower. When Alvin offered us some of his Petite Sirah grapes, we were excited to produce a wine with the Tollini Mendocino Petite Sirah at its core. With 44% Petite Sirah along with 4% Syrah, and 12% Carignane—all from Tollini Vineyard—we couldn’t legally call the wine a Petite Sirah, but wanted to come up with a fun name to reflect its origins. The name Mendo Blendo is our wink and a nod to Mendocino’s other agricultural crop of note.
Specs
Composition:
44% Petite Sirah - September 15th
44% Syrah - September 7th
12% Carignane - September 30th
Appellation: Tollini Vineyard, Redwood Valley, Mendocino
Alcohol: 15.2%
pH: 3.60
TA: 0.65g/100ml
Barrel Aging: 27 months
Cooperage: 20% new American oak barrels, 20% two year old French oak barrels, 60% neutral oak barrels
Bottling Date: January 31st, 2018
Closure type: Screwcap - Ramondin - saranex liner
Production: 200 cases 750ml
Release date: September 2020
Included in the Box
6-bottles:
2x 2015 Barbera, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino County
2x 2015 Zero Manipulation Red Wine, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino Blend
2x 2015 Mendo Blendo, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino
Case:
4x 2015 Barbera, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino County
4x 2015 Zero Manipulation Red Wine, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino Blend
Peterson Winery has been producing wine in Dry Creek Valley for 30 years and, like most wineries in the Valley, produces Zinfandel as well as other wines. Yet a closer look shows that is where the similarities end.
Owner Fred Peterson is an iconoclast with an old world winemaking philosophy and a reverence for sustainable farming. The Peterson approach is to capture the essence of vintage and vineyard—a philosophy they call Zero Manipulation—with low tech, yet high touch, to produce wines of a place, wines with soul. The evolution of Peterson wines and winemaking accelerated when Fred’s son Jamie became assistant winemaker in the summer of 2002. In 2006, after moving from the tiny red barn on Lytton Springs to Timber Crest Farms, Jamie was given the overall responsibilities as winemaker. As a winegrowing team, Fred and Jamie assess the grapes from each vineyard and vintage as the season progresses, evaluating how the weather, soil and site are interacting for the particular vintage. At Peterson winery, the winemaking process begins while the grapes are still on the vines. Zero Manipulation is a discipline the Petersons follow to capture the character and balance of inherent in the grapes. Zero Manipulation means using the most gentle, traditional winemaking practices possible to maximize the flavors, aromatics and texture of the wines. Fred and Jamie celebrate vintage differences and don’t tweak or homogenize the wine to obtain consistency of flavors, a common practice in mass-market wineries. For Fred and Jamie, Peterson Winery is all about the wines. But if you look a little deeper, you’ll see the heart and soul that goes into every bottle.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MA, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY
I was lucky enough to get two of these bottles to sample.
Zero Manipulation
Dark cherry, tobacco, bitter chocolate on the nose. Very dark in the glass.
Full on the tongue. Dark cherry, plum, bitter chocolate. Slight “funk” in a good way. Like in some Pinots. Light tannins. Easily drinkable.
2nd day had mellowed out and got slightly more “fruity” and the funk was gone. Slightly drier on the finish.
Mendo Blendo
This one was a bit darker. Similar flavors, but more full and rich. Dark cherry, plum, dates. Very full flavor with good tannins. Nice dry finish, but not bone dry. Very fruity (I’m a good way) for a wine this dark and full.
Overall, I liked them both a lot and found them to be very enjoyable. The Mendo was more full and would want a nice heavy meal to stand up against. The Zero Manipulation was good with the paella I had it with, but was also light enough to drink on its own during the evening.
@firstgeer Read the other rat reports. I’ll try to up my game for the next one. I bought a case of these if that adds anything to the review. Really enjoyed both of the ones I got and looking forward to trying the Barbera.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2015 Peterson Tollini Vineyard Mixed Reds - $20 = 15.37%
We were blessed with both the 2015 Barbera and 2015 Zero Manipulation Red Wine Blend. Rather than repeat the winery’s statistics and descriptions, read the whole thing above, as they say. The winery provides solid statistics, reasonable descriptions and good winery history/information. Always appreciated by Casemates, and by rpm and SWMBO.
Per our usual habit, we did a modified Davis system scoring (20 points maximum) on the wines. In this case pretty much out of the box, due to work and timing constraints. We also were able to compare both wines over two nights’ dinner: the first evening with spicy marinated, grilled pork tenderloin, the second evening with a spatch-cocked mesquite grilled chicken. Also had it with a bit of an expresso ganache cake. The result was we think we got a pretty fair sense of both wines.
More about the food pairings later.
Interestingly, both rpm and SWMBO scored the wines almost identically, which is a little unusual.
First to the Scores:
(number in parenthesis is the possible score) 2015 Barbera Appearance (2): Both of us scored the wine 1 - the wine was clear, but wasn’t brilliantly clear - it’s possible this is the result of the wine having only say a day or so after traveling across the country.
Color (2): Both of us scored the wine 2 - very characteristic of Babera and deep. Very nice.
Aroma and Bouquet (6): Both of us scored the wine 4. We did not get the complex fruits in the nose. It has a very pleasant nose, which I would describe as vinous - fancy for SWMBO’s comment it smells like wine. [NB it did open a bit more over the next 2 days.
Total Acidity (2): Both of us scored 2 minus. The balance was good, but the acid felt a little low to both of us (despite the numbers above), leading to it seeming just a little flat. Not flat like a Merlot, just a little flatter than we expect from Barbera. Youngish vines?
Sweetness (1), Body (1): Both of us us scored 1 each for these categories - appropriate, exactly what we expect in Barbera.
Flavor (2): Both of us scored 2. It tasted like Babera should, with a bit of earthiness combined with red fruit. I’d say more ‘mixed red berries’ or ‘blackberry and raspberry’ than the other flavors the winery describes.
Bitterness (1); Astringency (1): Both of us scored 1 each as it was absolutely appropriate. Note that for Barbera that means not a whole lot of tannin.
General Quality (2): Both of us scored 1. We thought this was a solid, good Barbera, but not a truly special wine. My benchmarks for California Barbera are (reaching back into my taste memory) the Barbera that Louis Martini used to make in the '60s and '70s and (more recently) the Barbera from Amador County. Well made wine, it was nice not to have wood flavors interfere with the grapes.
Final score: 16 (-) This is the upper end of good, standard quality wine. What that means is a nice, well-made, enjoyable wine, but not a wine you’d save for a special dinner. I think that’s exactly right.
We very much enjoyed sipping this wine on its own.
Value: Our guesstimate was that this wine would probably retail at Beverage Media list for about $20-25/bottle, with a Casemates price in the $12-15 range, at which it would represent good value.
2015 Zero Manipulation Red Wine Blend
Appearance (2): Both of us scored 2 - this wine was brilliantly clear.
Color (2): very characteristic for Carignane (dominant grape in the blend), medium depth. Both of us scored 2.
Aroma and Bouquet (6): Both of us scored a 3. The nose was pleasant, vinous, but not distinctive. Hints of the Grenache and Syrah in the blend, but very much muted.
Total Acidity (2): Both of us scored 1.5 It seemed a little high to us, not much but noticible after the Barbera.
Sweetness (1); Body (1): Both of us scored 1 in each category. Appropriate for the blend. Body seemed a little thinner than I’d like, but not enough to lower a score. It lacked the body and heft of typical Côtes du Rhône Village from, say Guigal.
Flavor (2): Both us scored 1.5. It was only later that the blackberry and earthiness came out, initially we really both felt it was vinous.
Bitterness (1); Astringency (1): Both of us scored 1 each. It wasn’t really bitter and it was tanic, but not excessively so. Exactly what one would expect from Carignane moderated by the Grenache and Syrah.
General Quality (2): Both of us scored 1. A very solid, if relatively simple, red blend. We both looked at each other and said Pizza wine! We thought it needed food, and would not look to it as a wine to have by itself in the same way as the Barbera.
Final Score: 14.5 for both of us. That puts it smack in the middle of standard quality wine. Good, well-made wine that needs food, definitely an everyday dinner wine for easy drinking.
Value: Our guesstimate was that this wine would probably retail at Beverage Media list for about $15-20/bottle, with a Casemates price in the $8-10 range, at which it would represent good value.
NOW PAY ATTENTION: Our experience with food needs to be taken into account in considering these wines. As mentioned above, we made a point of having both the Barbera and the Zero Manipulation accompany two dinners. With the marinated, grilled pork tenderloin, we expected the Barbera to be by far the better match, but the opposite was true! The ZM stood up to and set off the flavors much better than the Barbera did. Similarly with the grilled chicken, which didn’t have the spicy flavors from the marinade, the Zero Manipulation turned out to be a significantly better pairing. We both thought, despite our having said Pizza Wine about the ZM, that it was the Barbera that should be paired with a dish with tomato sauce, be it pizza or pasta.
We truly appreciated the opportunity to preview and review these wines.
Our bottom line is that, now that we see the Casemates prices, the wines represent a very good value at the 6-pack price and an excellent value at the Case price.
I really really was going to stop at least for a few weeks. Last month has been brutal with the cases showing up (and the credit card bill soon to follow!). But this has three things goin’ for it
interesting region and unusual varietals & blends
a mix so you get to try several things in one “buy.”
decent 1/2-case price so not too much “penalty”
See, I said I wasn’t going to buy any more cases of wine for a while, but since I only got a 1/2 case, that’s got to be OK, right?
@pmarin I was going to abstain until I read your post. I do like trying different wines, and the benefit of having three to try sucked me in. But I got a case.
I was the lucky recipient of not one, but two Peterson Tolini Vineyard wines to labrat! In short, all four people who tried the wines liked them very much, and I am in for a case. The case price is a steal for these wines.
I am not familiar with Peterson or the Tollini Vineyard. I was excited to see it proudly show these wines are single vineyard and low production. Also both have a little bit of age and are unfined and unfiltered. Sounding good so far! I sampled both of them side by side, and then individually with meals.
MENDO BLEND (200 cases)
Unsurprisingly the darker of the two, with the PS and Syrah dominating, it was intensely dark purple. Aromas of plum and blueberries. Leather or a dusty attic deeper aromas follow up the fruit; kind of like opening a book untouched for decades. Some vanilla from a barrel.
Taking a sip, you can feel the tannins and your mouth awakens. Tasting the dark blue/black fruits, comes second to the leather complex deep taste. The mouthfeel is velvety smooth and pleasing. The finish lingers then slowly fades out making you want more.
I had this wine with handmade fettuccine noodles and a tomato and mushroom sauce. It paired well, doing its job as a red wine with red pasta, but it didn’t blow me away. I probably should have switched meals with the wine pairings. Oops. It was, however, incredibly well paired with 70% dark chocolate, as any good PS should be.
Final verdict: Drinks lovely on its own, and could stand up to very hearty dishes, but also didn’t overpower a more delicate pasta dish. The dark fruits, especially plum, are very enjoyable, but I am a sucker for the non-fruit aromas, and this delivers. I like this wine a lot, and so did the other 3.
BARBERA (275 cases)
Uh oh. (Thinking to myself: don’t compare this to Scott Harvey, your almost entirety of experience and knowledge of this varietal.) Obviously this one was much lighter in color compared to the blend, but still was pretty deeply colored but leaning more towards a ruby red versus purple.
My mom picked up cherries from a couple feet away upon pouring. It definitely has cherries and other red fruits front and center. Maybe some darker fruits or some other complexity to the red fruit aromas. Baked/grilled? (Not jammy, just a change from the raw state.) Not nearly as intense as the blend, but I swear I am getting some more leather; is that the vineyard? Herbal and floral notes in the background, but not nearly as present as the big red fruits.
First sip was tart; Barbera acidity reporting for duty. After that initial punch, you are treated to a luxuriously smooth mouthfeel. My better half compared it to a Ty Caton, which I have always found incredibly lush and easy. Now I am tasting some of those mysterious not-red fruit aromas. Currants? Crimson raspberries? Again, that hard-to-pin down leathery/earthy thing going on. I like it.
I had this wine with Sirloin Tips from York Steak House (if any of you remember those from yesteryear, there is only one location left: Columbus, OH.) What a lovely match! The acidity of Barbera cut right through the rich jus and caramelized onions. Sirloin itself is lean, but if you had fatty food, this would be great. I stopped analyzing the taste of the wine and just enjoyed each bite/sip because the wine paired so perfectly.
Final verdict: This was true to the style I have come to know and love from this varietal. I really enjoyed it with food, but after your mouth adjusts to the acidity, I could easily drink this on its own. Bright red fruits with notable mouthfeel will make this a crowd pleaser.
IN CONCLUSION
After peeking at the wineries website and seeing these retail for $20, I thought that was a great price for these very nice wines. Sure, they’ve got screw caps, but we educated casemate folks know that isn’t an indicator of quality. $9 is pretty much highway robbery for wine that drinks well above its price point. Single vineyard; limited production; more complexity than $20 grocery store wines; this is good! (And I am looking forward to trying the 3d one.)
@peterson_winery, I was hoping you would show up. Very excited to see the updated Mendo Blendo label and given the rat reports, I’m guessing it’ll be just as good as the 2013. I’m curious about your Zero Manipulation philosophy. You state:
Our definition of Zero Manipulation is using the gentlest winemaking techniques possible to maximize flavors, aromas and the original essence of the grapes
That’s a nice sentiment, but what exactly do you not do that ‘non-zero manipulation’ winemaking employs? The grapes probably don’t crush themselves…
With the drought being at its height for the 2015 vintage, and the fact that the Tollini family dry farms, the wines got a bit more concentrated following the 2013. Still we pick and keep an eye on acidity balance as much as sugar levels… but the wines definitely have a little more stuffing.
Zero Manipulation is a combination of intention as well as practice. Each year is slightly different, and our goal is to express that variation (while still making a wine that tastes good), and not having a preconceived notion of the wine being exactly the same each year. We don’t add enzymes, tannins, acid, etc., and don’t fine or filter these wines (or treat with velcorin, or lysozyme, or gum arabic, or or or…). SO2 is used after fermentation and at bottling, though with switching to screw caps and lower oxygen pickup, we can get away with less.
We mostly destem (Grenache and Syrah sometimes gets a percentage of whole cluster), into open top vats, cold soak for a few days, and let the native yeasts do their thing. These wines go to predominantly older barrels. A small percentage of new oak is used on the Petite Sirah, but we never want it to be a noticeable, overt character.
Back to pressing and punchdowns. Let me know if that gives you a better picture, and I’ll check back if you want to talk more.
@KitMarlot@Peterson_Winery Thanks again for some great rattage and winery participation; in for a case. I picked up a case of your Mendo Blendo when it was offered last time and really enjoyed it! I suspect from your notes that it will be a bit different, but I definitely like your approach to wine making, screw caps and all. The only thing I regret is that you changed your Mendo Blendo label. I know there were some that did not care for it, but I thought it was a hoot! In any event, I look forward to enjoying more of your fine wines
Thank you to the folks at Casemates for putting together and featuring this pack from our extra value lineup! After the success and positive feedback for the 2014 Barbera, as well as the 2013 Barbera and Mendo Blendo with the old labels, we thought it would be fun to offer the core of the lineup together. Very glad to be able to get the wines in peoples hands at a price that should make everyone happy.
Random, rambly additional thoughts on the wines and vineyard -
Al Tollini is the current generation of the family farming this land in the Redwood Valley of Mendocino. He grows grapes and sells to a number of wineries in the area, and we have been working with him for 20 years now; the first fruit we bought was old vine Carignane that became the base of our Zero Manipulation blend, and we’ve added to the series over the years as his other blocks became available or replanted. Mendo Blendo in 2008, Barbera in 2009, and our “Old School” Zin with the 2015 vintage.
Since we have our own bottling line, with the 2010 vintage, we ran 100 case lot trials of different cork options (natural and agglomerated) vs screw cap options for these wines. In each case, the screw cap closures were the preferred seal. They preserved the vibrant and fresh fruit quality, while still developing slowly. Even at 8 years of age, when we opened them with Elizabeth Schneider of the Wine for Normal People podcast series, the screw cap seal was more consistent and kept the wine as we intended it to be. Yay for no cork spoilage as well.
@Peterson_Winery I’m all in after the pig, the Pan and the Ass, sorry no bear. Then I could have gone bare ass. Wonderful wines and corks are the Betamax of wine closures. Bring on the screwies!
@KitMarlot Cost of fruit is the main factor between the Tollini Vineyard series and our Estate and Dry Creek Valley wines. We pay about half for grapes from Mendocino per ton than those from Dry Creek Valley. We use a little higher percentage of new French and Hungarian oak barrels as well… adding a little to the cost. Beyond that, the winemaking is essentially the same.
@Peterson_Winery I knew Dry Creek Valley grapes were more highly regarded than Mendocino but didn’t realize that they were that much more expensive. I guess when the grower and winemaker know what they are doing, the appellation just means we pay less for nearly the same quality. Thanks!
@KitMarlot Yes I sometimes think its crazy the disparity. Especially given the history and continuity that Mendocino (and other areas) have with regards to growing great grapes. We immediately gave Alvin a few hundred dollar a ton raise for his Carignane when we started buying it back in 2000 for what he sold them to Gallo, and have gone up a bit since… but not as steep as the land value and grape price increases in Sonoma and Napa for sure.
Mostly just happy we can still make wines from grapes like these at prices people can hopefully enjoy every day. And not go broke ourselves doing it
Mostly just happy we can still make wines from grapes like these at prices people can hopefully enjoy every day.
You definitely do that
And not go broke ourselves doing it
That’s the trick, right! Some wine makers resort to gimmicks (high MSRP with the presumption that high price is equivalent with high quality or that selling at a ‘discount’ will move more product) but I never begrudge an artisan for charging a fair price, even if it is more than I’m willing to spend.
Once again @Peterson_Winery, thanks so much for participating in the discussion!
I don’t have a lot to add, other than I really enjoyed the Barbera from Peterson previously offered here, and that my order # is sleazy-heartbreaking-ravioli. Sounds about right given everything that 2020 has had on offer to date!
These seem like a great selection, I like the variety offerings. In for 6, I’d do 12 but we’ve been too spendy lately so appreciate a good deal on the half case!
/giphy refreshing-cheap-top
So we are wayyyyy past are capacity; but: I know - I know, we have really enjoyed every Peterson wine WineDavd/Casmates has offered, but I’m full up on case’s; but as @pmarin said it’s not a Case…it’s only 6 bottles, so I’m good right?? shaky-astonishing-edge
2013 Mendo Blendo was my first case buy here on Casemates. Wife and I loved it. Been hoping this would show up again. Now we get the chance to try a couple more from Peterson Winery. I have ordered 3.5 cases of wine in the last 2 weeks (cellar ran dry over quarantine). What’s another case?
Fred and now his son have always made the type of wines I like to drink. Well made old world wines of place, variety and vintage. I’m in.
Fred, I hope you’re surviving the fires and brought in most of your harvest before this last one.
Scott
Really enjoying the 2013 Vignoles and La Stupenda (we’re the rare ones that liked that label (pianist wife found it very funny). Based on those two, we’re definitely in for a case.
BTW- how high can we safely stack the cartons? Seriously. Racks are full, and now 3 high along a wall in the basement. I think we’re nearly set through future retirement.
/giphy uptight-parched-mine
@benguin986 I too loved the 2013 Vignoles, and would snap up a case of it in a second, but thought that the Barbera was just okay. Might just be personal taste
Finishing off the last of this case (who am I kidding, thought the box was empty until I went to remove it from storage and realize there were 3 more there). Loved this deal… enough to make today’s Peterson deal an auto buy.
2015 Barbera, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino County
Tasting Notes
Vintage Notes
Specs
2015 Zero Manipulation Red Wine, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino Blend
Tasting Notes
Vintage Notes
Vineyard Notes
Specs
2015 Mendo Blendo, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino
Tasting Notes
Vintage Notes
Specs
Included in the Box
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$282.00/Case at Peterson Winery for 4x 2015 Barbera, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino County, 4x 2015 Zero Manipulation Red Wine, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino Blend, 4x 2015 Mendo Blendo, Tollini Vineyard, Mendocino
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MA, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Oct 26 - Tuesday, Oct 27
Peterson Tollini Vineyard Mixed Reds
6 bottles for $64.99 $10.83/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $109.99 $9.17/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2015 Peterson Barbera
2015 Peterson Zero Manipulation Red
2015 Peterson Mendo Blendo
I was lucky enough to get two of these bottles to sample.
Zero Manipulation
Dark cherry, tobacco, bitter chocolate on the nose. Very dark in the glass.
Full on the tongue. Dark cherry, plum, bitter chocolate. Slight “funk” in a good way. Like in some Pinots. Light tannins. Easily drinkable.
2nd day had mellowed out and got slightly more “fruity” and the funk was gone. Slightly drier on the finish.
Mendo Blendo
This one was a bit darker. Similar flavors, but more full and rich. Dark cherry, plum, dates. Very full flavor with good tannins. Nice dry finish, but not bone dry. Very fruity (I’m a good way) for a wine this dark and full.
Overall, I liked them both a lot and found them to be very enjoyable. The Mendo was more full and would want a nice heavy meal to stand up against. The Zero Manipulation was good with the paella I had it with, but was also light enough to drink on its own during the evening.
@firstgeer Thank you for reporting and doing double duty.
@firstgeer Read the other rat reports. I’ll try to up my game for the next one.
I bought a case of these if that adds anything to the review. Really enjoyed both of the ones I got and looking forward to trying the Barbera.
Price seems lower than before but now slightly sad for being left out.
(no MI)
I grabbed the barbera the last time it was on sale and it was pretty tasty.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2015 Peterson Tollini Vineyard Mixed Reds - $20 = 15.37%
/giphy respective-disgusted-road
Why no Michigan? We were able to get this same Barbera back in March.
@wulfgard had a hiccup with the state licensing and reporting. Our apologies for having to hold off on the state for now
/giphy puny-homegrown-privateer
rpm and SWMBO reporting for Lab Rat duty.
We were blessed with both the 2015 Barbera and 2015 Zero Manipulation Red Wine Blend. Rather than repeat the winery’s statistics and descriptions, read the whole thing above, as they say. The winery provides solid statistics, reasonable descriptions and good winery history/information. Always appreciated by Casemates, and by rpm and SWMBO.
Per our usual habit, we did a modified Davis system scoring (20 points maximum) on the wines. In this case pretty much out of the box, due to work and timing constraints. We also were able to compare both wines over two nights’ dinner: the first evening with spicy marinated, grilled pork tenderloin, the second evening with a spatch-cocked mesquite grilled chicken. Also had it with a bit of an expresso ganache cake. The result was we think we got a pretty fair sense of both wines.
More about the food pairings later.
Interestingly, both rpm and SWMBO scored the wines almost identically, which is a little unusual.
First to the Scores:
(number in parenthesis is the possible score)
2015 Barbera
Appearance (2): Both of us scored the wine 1 - the wine was clear, but wasn’t brilliantly clear - it’s possible this is the result of the wine having only say a day or so after traveling across the country.
Color (2): Both of us scored the wine 2 - very characteristic of Babera and deep. Very nice.
Aroma and Bouquet (6): Both of us scored the wine 4. We did not get the complex fruits in the nose. It has a very pleasant nose, which I would describe as vinous - fancy for SWMBO’s comment it smells like wine. [NB it did open a bit more over the next 2 days.
Total Acidity (2): Both of us scored 2 minus. The balance was good, but the acid felt a little low to both of us (despite the numbers above), leading to it seeming just a little flat. Not flat like a Merlot, just a little flatter than we expect from Barbera. Youngish vines?
Sweetness (1), Body (1): Both of us us scored 1 each for these categories - appropriate, exactly what we expect in Barbera.
Flavor (2): Both of us scored 2. It tasted like Babera should, with a bit of earthiness combined with red fruit. I’d say more ‘mixed red berries’ or ‘blackberry and raspberry’ than the other flavors the winery describes.
Bitterness (1); Astringency (1): Both of us scored 1 each as it was absolutely appropriate. Note that for Barbera that means not a whole lot of tannin.
General Quality (2): Both of us scored 1. We thought this was a solid, good Barbera, but not a truly special wine. My benchmarks for California Barbera are (reaching back into my taste memory) the Barbera that Louis Martini used to make in the '60s and '70s and (more recently) the Barbera from Amador County. Well made wine, it was nice not to have wood flavors interfere with the grapes.
Final score: 16 (-) This is the upper end of good, standard quality wine. What that means is a nice, well-made, enjoyable wine, but not a wine you’d save for a special dinner. I think that’s exactly right.
We very much enjoyed sipping this wine on its own.
Value: Our guesstimate was that this wine would probably retail at Beverage Media list for about $20-25/bottle, with a Casemates price in the $12-15 range, at which it would represent good value.
2015 Zero Manipulation Red Wine Blend
Appearance (2): Both of us scored 2 - this wine was brilliantly clear.
Color (2): very characteristic for Carignane (dominant grape in the blend), medium depth. Both of us scored 2.
Aroma and Bouquet (6): Both of us scored a 3. The nose was pleasant, vinous, but not distinctive. Hints of the Grenache and Syrah in the blend, but very much muted.
Total Acidity (2): Both of us scored 1.5 It seemed a little high to us, not much but noticible after the Barbera.
Sweetness (1); Body (1): Both of us scored 1 in each category. Appropriate for the blend. Body seemed a little thinner than I’d like, but not enough to lower a score. It lacked the body and heft of typical Côtes du Rhône Village from, say Guigal.
Flavor (2): Both us scored 1.5. It was only later that the blackberry and earthiness came out, initially we really both felt it was vinous.
Bitterness (1); Astringency (1): Both of us scored 1 each. It wasn’t really bitter and it was tanic, but not excessively so. Exactly what one would expect from Carignane moderated by the Grenache and Syrah.
General Quality (2): Both of us scored 1. A very solid, if relatively simple, red blend. We both looked at each other and said Pizza wine! We thought it needed food, and would not look to it as a wine to have by itself in the same way as the Barbera.
Final Score: 14.5 for both of us. That puts it smack in the middle of standard quality wine. Good, well-made wine that needs food, definitely an everyday dinner wine for easy drinking.
Value: Our guesstimate was that this wine would probably retail at Beverage Media list for about $15-20/bottle, with a Casemates price in the $8-10 range, at which it would represent good value.
NOW PAY ATTENTION: Our experience with food needs to be taken into account in considering these wines. As mentioned above, we made a point of having both the Barbera and the Zero Manipulation accompany two dinners. With the marinated, grilled pork tenderloin, we expected the Barbera to be by far the better match, but the opposite was true! The ZM stood up to and set off the flavors much better than the Barbera did. Similarly with the grilled chicken, which didn’t have the spicy flavors from the marinade, the Zero Manipulation turned out to be a significantly better pairing. We both thought, despite our having said Pizza Wine about the ZM, that it was the Barbera that should be paired with a dish with tomato sauce, be it pizza or pasta.
We truly appreciated the opportunity to preview and review these wines.
Our bottom line is that, now that we see the Casemates prices, the wines represent a very good value at the 6-pack price and an excellent value at the Case price.
@rpm Thank you for the thoughtful notes.
@rpm
hmmm
I think I want the eSpresso ganache cake
can I have some?
@rpm Great Rat!
@rpm Now that’s what I call an A++++ review! Thanks RPM & SWMBO!!
@rpm Awesome detailed report - thank you!
POPSOCKETS! SPROCKETS! DAVY CROCKETT! AWESOME!
/giphy serious-lopsided-jeans
/giphy mixed-unarmed-possum
Their 2014 Barbera was so good I’m going full in just on trust. Autobuy!
Sounds like it would be picking up a case of this.
/giphy nominal-navigable-tendency
I really really was going to stop at least for a few weeks. Last month has been brutal with the cases showing up (and the credit card bill soon to follow!). But this has three things goin’ for it
See, I said I wasn’t going to buy any more cases of wine for a while, but since I only got a 1/2 case, that’s got to be OK, right?
/giphy raging-abstract-knee
@pmarin I was going to abstain until I read your post. I do like trying different wines, and the benefit of having three to try sucked me in. But I got a case.
I’m probably gonna purchase a six pack, but I’ll grab a case if any PDXers want six or three.
I was the lucky recipient of not one, but two Peterson Tolini Vineyard wines to labrat! In short, all four people who tried the wines liked them very much, and I am in for a case. The case price is a steal for these wines.
I am not familiar with Peterson or the Tollini Vineyard. I was excited to see it proudly show these wines are single vineyard and low production. Also both have a little bit of age and are unfined and unfiltered. Sounding good so far! I sampled both of them side by side, and then individually with meals.
MENDO BLEND (200 cases)
Unsurprisingly the darker of the two, with the PS and Syrah dominating, it was intensely dark purple. Aromas of plum and blueberries. Leather or a dusty attic deeper aromas follow up the fruit; kind of like opening a book untouched for decades. Some vanilla from a barrel.
Taking a sip, you can feel the tannins and your mouth awakens. Tasting the dark blue/black fruits, comes second to the leather complex deep taste. The mouthfeel is velvety smooth and pleasing. The finish lingers then slowly fades out making you want more.
I had this wine with handmade fettuccine noodles and a tomato and mushroom sauce. It paired well, doing its job as a red wine with red pasta, but it didn’t blow me away. I probably should have switched meals with the wine pairings. Oops. It was, however, incredibly well paired with 70% dark chocolate, as any good PS should be.
Final verdict: Drinks lovely on its own, and could stand up to very hearty dishes, but also didn’t overpower a more delicate pasta dish. The dark fruits, especially plum, are very enjoyable, but I am a sucker for the non-fruit aromas, and this delivers. I like this wine a lot, and so did the other 3.
BARBERA (275 cases)
Uh oh. (Thinking to myself: don’t compare this to Scott Harvey, your almost entirety of experience and knowledge of this varietal.) Obviously this one was much lighter in color compared to the blend, but still was pretty deeply colored but leaning more towards a ruby red versus purple.
My mom picked up cherries from a couple feet away upon pouring. It definitely has cherries and other red fruits front and center. Maybe some darker fruits or some other complexity to the red fruit aromas. Baked/grilled? (Not jammy, just a change from the raw state.) Not nearly as intense as the blend, but I swear I am getting some more leather; is that the vineyard? Herbal and floral notes in the background, but not nearly as present as the big red fruits.
First sip was tart; Barbera acidity reporting for duty. After that initial punch, you are treated to a luxuriously smooth mouthfeel. My better half compared it to a Ty Caton, which I have always found incredibly lush and easy. Now I am tasting some of those mysterious not-red fruit aromas. Currants? Crimson raspberries? Again, that hard-to-pin down leathery/earthy thing going on. I like it.
I had this wine with Sirloin Tips from York Steak House (if any of you remember those from yesteryear, there is only one location left: Columbus, OH.) What a lovely match! The acidity of Barbera cut right through the rich jus and caramelized onions. Sirloin itself is lean, but if you had fatty food, this would be great. I stopped analyzing the taste of the wine and just enjoyed each bite/sip because the wine paired so perfectly.
Final verdict: This was true to the style I have come to know and love from this varietal. I really enjoyed it with food, but after your mouth adjusts to the acidity, I could easily drink this on its own. Bright red fruits with notable mouthfeel will make this a crowd pleaser.
IN CONCLUSION
After peeking at the wineries website and seeing these retail for $20, I thought that was a great price for these very nice wines. Sure, they’ve got screw caps, but we educated casemate folks know that isn’t an indicator of quality. $9 is pretty much highway robbery for wine that drinks well above its price point. Single vineyard; limited production; more complexity than $20 grocery store wines; this is good! (And I am looking forward to trying the 3d one.)
@KNmeh7 that’s awesome dude
POPSOCKETS! COURT DOCKETS! FOLK ROCK HITS! AWESOME!
@KNmeh7 good job, thanks!
@KNmeh7 Thanks for the review and assessment! Very much a lot of what we go for with the wines.
@KNmeh7 Thanks for the great report. Love the Ty Caton comparison.
@peterson_winery, I was hoping you would show up. Very excited to see the updated Mendo Blendo label and given the rat reports, I’m guessing it’ll be just as good as the 2013. I’m curious about your Zero Manipulation philosophy. You state:
That’s a nice sentiment, but what exactly do you not do that ‘non-zero manipulation’ winemaking employs? The grapes probably don’t crush themselves…
@KitMarlot
With the drought being at its height for the 2015 vintage, and the fact that the Tollini family dry farms, the wines got a bit more concentrated following the 2013. Still we pick and keep an eye on acidity balance as much as sugar levels… but the wines definitely have a little more stuffing.
Zero Manipulation is a combination of intention as well as practice. Each year is slightly different, and our goal is to express that variation (while still making a wine that tastes good), and not having a preconceived notion of the wine being exactly the same each year. We don’t add enzymes, tannins, acid, etc., and don’t fine or filter these wines (or treat with velcorin, or lysozyme, or gum arabic, or or or…). SO2 is used after fermentation and at bottling, though with switching to screw caps and lower oxygen pickup, we can get away with less.
We mostly destem (Grenache and Syrah sometimes gets a percentage of whole cluster), into open top vats, cold soak for a few days, and let the native yeasts do their thing. These wines go to predominantly older barrels. A small percentage of new oak is used on the Petite Sirah, but we never want it to be a noticeable, overt character.
Back to pressing and punchdowns. Let me know if that gives you a better picture, and I’ll check back if you want to talk more.
@KitMarlot @Peterson_Winery
I, for one, will always appreciate the why/how details driving your decisions.
Just last week I twisted a top on a 2013 Peterson Winery Barbera La Stupenda; nice bottle, thanks.
@KitMarlot @Peterson_Winery Thanks again for some great rattage and winery participation; in for a case. I picked up a case of your Mendo Blendo when it was offered last time and really enjoyed it! I suspect from your notes that it will be a bit different, but I definitely like your approach to wine making, screw caps and all. The only thing I regret is that you changed your Mendo Blendo label. I know there were some that did not care for it, but I thought it was a hoot! In any event, I look forward to enjoying more of your fine wines
Thank you to the folks at Casemates for putting together and featuring this pack from our extra value lineup! After the success and positive feedback for the 2014 Barbera, as well as the 2013 Barbera and Mendo Blendo with the old labels, we thought it would be fun to offer the core of the lineup together. Very glad to be able to get the wines in peoples hands at a price that should make everyone happy.
Random, rambly additional thoughts on the wines and vineyard -
Al Tollini is the current generation of the family farming this land in the Redwood Valley of Mendocino. He grows grapes and sells to a number of wineries in the area, and we have been working with him for 20 years now; the first fruit we bought was old vine Carignane that became the base of our Zero Manipulation blend, and we’ve added to the series over the years as his other blocks became available or replanted. Mendo Blendo in 2008, Barbera in 2009, and our “Old School” Zin with the 2015 vintage.
Since we have our own bottling line, with the 2010 vintage, we ran 100 case lot trials of different cork options (natural and agglomerated) vs screw cap options for these wines. In each case, the screw cap closures were the preferred seal. They preserved the vibrant and fresh fruit quality, while still developing slowly. Even at 8 years of age, when we opened them with Elizabeth Schneider of the Wine for Normal People podcast series, the screw cap seal was more consistent and kept the wine as we intended it to be. Yay for no cork spoilage as well.
@Peterson_Winery I’m all in after the pig, the Pan and the Ass, sorry no bear. Then I could have gone bare ass. Wonderful wines and corks are the Betamax of wine closures. Bring on the screwies!
@Peterson_Winery thanks for this great offer! So nice I can still purchase good wine during pandemic budgeting
@Peterson_Winery I’m really liking the new label and the blends shown on the front is a nice touch
@Peterson_Winery please forgive the impertinence, but you made me wonder with your comment
Are your estate wines also zero manipulation or is there some other reason for the higher prices?
PS I love your wines and am splitting a case, so don’t take this as criticism. I’m just curious.
@KitMarlot Cost of fruit is the main factor between the Tollini Vineyard series and our Estate and Dry Creek Valley wines. We pay about half for grapes from Mendocino per ton than those from Dry Creek Valley. We use a little higher percentage of new French and Hungarian oak barrels as well… adding a little to the cost. Beyond that, the winemaking is essentially the same.
@Peterson_Winery I knew Dry Creek Valley grapes were more highly regarded than Mendocino but didn’t realize that they were that much more expensive. I guess when the grower and winemaker know what they are doing, the appellation just means we pay less for nearly the same quality. Thanks!
@KitMarlot Yes I sometimes think its crazy the disparity. Especially given the history and continuity that Mendocino (and other areas) have with regards to growing great grapes. We immediately gave Alvin a few hundred dollar a ton raise for his Carignane when we started buying it back in 2000 for what he sold them to Gallo, and have gone up a bit since… but not as steep as the land value and grape price increases in Sonoma and Napa for sure.
Mostly just happy we can still make wines from grapes like these at prices people can hopefully enjoy every day. And not go broke ourselves doing it
Two parting thoughts:
You definitely do that
That’s the trick, right! Some wine makers resort to gimmicks (high MSRP with the presumption that high price is equivalent with high quality or that selling at a ‘discount’ will move more product) but I never begrudge an artisan for charging a fair price, even if it is more than I’m willing to spend.
Once again @Peterson_Winery, thanks so much for participating in the discussion!
I don’t have a lot to add, other than I really enjoyed the Barbera from Peterson previously offered here, and that my order # is sleazy-heartbreaking-ravioli. Sounds about right given everything that 2020 has had on offer to date!
I got the Mendo Blendo last time it was offered and enjoyed it. Based on that, I’d say this is a buy, but I’m all full up right now.
/giphy shady-grumpy-hippopotamus
These seem like a great selection, I like the variety offerings. In for 6, I’d do 12 but we’ve been too spendy lately so appreciate a good deal on the half case!
/giphy refreshing-cheap-top
So we are wayyyyy past are capacity; but: I know - I know, we have really enjoyed every Peterson wine WineDavd/Casmates has offered, but I’m full up on case’s; but as @pmarin said it’s not a Case…it’s only 6 bottles, so I’m good right??
shaky-astonishing-edge
2013 Mendo Blendo was my first case buy here on Casemates. Wife and I loved it. Been hoping this would show up again. Now we get the chance to try a couple more from Peterson Winery. I have ordered 3.5 cases of wine in the last 2 weeks (cellar ran dry over quarantine). What’s another case?
/giphy real-operative-shandy
/giphy rosy-contentious-lift
Peterson Folks, @KitMarlot
Any chance for an end-around for Maryland? This looks worth a try!
Fred and now his son have always made the type of wines I like to drink. Well made old world wines of place, variety and vintage. I’m in.
Fred, I hope you’re surviving the fires and brought in most of your harvest before this last one.
Scott
Any idea when these will ship? I’ll be in da woods until the 22nd…
/giphy absorbed-splendid-pork
/giphy grimy-measured-middle
This may be the best one I’ve gotten so far, awesome GIF.
LEGOS! EGGOS! STRATEGO! AWESOME!
@mediocrebot The plural of Lego is Lego. But Everything is Awesome.
VAN GOGH! MANGO! TANGO! AWESOME!
Really enjoying the 2013 Vignoles and La Stupenda (we’re the rare ones that liked that label (pianist wife found it very funny). Based on those two, we’re definitely in for a case.
BTW- how high can we safely stack the cartons? Seriously. Racks are full, and now 3 high along a wall in the basement. I think we’re nearly set through future retirement.
/giphy uptight-parched-mine
@benguin986 same here
… oh,boy.
@benguin986 I too loved the 2013 Vignoles, and would snap up a case of it in a second, but thought that the Barbera was just okay. Might just be personal taste
@benguin986 I’m afraid to stack the cartons 3 high… so I stop at 2.
@benguin986 @TimW
The styro easily go to five.
@benguin986 @TimW 3 is good, Gets wobbly at 4.
rpm seal of approval?
/giphy soggy patriotic chili
In for a case!
/giphy acoustic-purring-jar
Tried the Mendo Blendo last night. WANT MORE!!!
@theLisaB I opened one last night and am finishing it tonight. Very enjoyable! Looking forward to trying the others in this case.
I found these wines to be awesome for the price. Looking forward to seeing them offered again sometime.
POKER! JOKER! NOT MEDIOCRE! AWESOME!
They are all quite good, but the Mendo Blendo takes the prize!
Finishing off the last of this case (who am I kidding, thought the box was empty until I went to remove it from storage and realize there were 3 more there). Loved this deal… enough to make today’s Peterson deal an auto buy.