2016 Peterson GSM Red Wine, Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley
Tasting Notes
A rich spicy blend of ripe berries offers playful, tempting aromatics that invite you to sip. The spice and fruit found in the nose continue on the palate with a bright core of raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, and cherry woven with the perfect sprinkling of black pepper and baking spices. Hints of mineral, cedar, tobacco, and dusty mocha, along with dark undertones from the integrated tannins and oak, provide depth and complexity while balancing the bright flavors.
Enjoy this delicious Rhône blend with stuffed pork tenderloin served with a basmati and wild rice pilaf, or Steak Diane with broasted potato wedges.
Jamie’s (Peterson) Vintaged View & Vineyard Notes
When we replanted the Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard in 2007, we were inspired to try different grape varieties. After multiple trips to the Rhone Valley of Southern France, the inspiration to plant Grenache was solidified. Without experience growing the varietal in our mountain vineyard, or making much in the winery, we weren’t sure what expression the resulting wines would put forward. Now we know.
The Grenache from the mountain produces a high-quality wine with all the classic characteristics of great Grenache—soft, luscious fruit, pepper and licorice spice, and some of the garrigue flavors, with the essence of minerality from the site coming through.
Building on this base, we strived to create a blend with depth and complexity, while not overwhelming the nuances of the core. Each year we experiment and trial the different Rhone flavors from our mountain vineyard. Along with the Grenache, the wine has classic components of Syrah and Mourvèdre, balancing the wine beautifully and giving it the potential to age for at least 7-10 years.
Specs
Composition:
Varietal Breakdown | Harvest Dates
57% Grenache | Sept. 22
29% Syrah | Sept. 22
14% Mourvèdre | Sept. 25
Vineyard: 100% Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard
Appellation: Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
Alcohol: 14.4%
pH: 3.41
TA: 0.68 g/100ml
Barrel Aging: 22 months
Cooperage: 10% new French oak barrels, 45% 2-year-old French oak barrels, 45% 4-8 year-old neutral oak barrels
Bottling Date: July 12, 2018 (unfined and unfiltered)
2018 Peterson Zero Manipulation Red Wine, Tollini Vineyard
Tasting Notes
Enticing aromatics of bright mixed berries and brown baking spices merge with earth and oak notes. The light, fresh entry flows into a robust mid-palate. Savor blackberry, strawberry, and raspberry flavors fused with hints of tobacco and leather and framed by softening tannins and hints of oak. Traces of huckleberry and fine herbs appear as the wine hits the finish and lingers.
A great wine to open to enjoy with grilled sausages, peppers, and onions over creamy polenta, or meatloaf served with twice-baked potatoes.
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged View
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 2018 it made up 68% of the blend. From this core of spicy, zippy red fruit flavors, we’ve added layers of depth, complexity, and balance with Grenache and Syrah. 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 grape’s true essence in every bottle; naturally, sustainably, and with a mind to being easy on your wallet.
Tollini Vineyard
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
Composition: 100% Tollini Vineyard
Varietal Breakdown | Harvest Dates
68% Carignane | Oct. 19
26% Grenache | Oct. 17
6% Syrah | Sept. 28
Appellation: Redwood Valley, Mendocino County
Alcohol: 13.7%
pH: 3.38
TA: 0.68g/100ml
Barrel Aging: 22 months
Cooperage: 100% neutral oak barrels
Bottling Date: July 21, 2020 (unfined & unfiltered)
2018 Peterson Carignane, Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley
Tasting Notes
Heady aromatics of fresh-picked plum and dried strawberry mingle with hints of brown baking spices. A full-flavored entry showcases a lovely mix of juicy berries — wild blackberry, fresh strawberry and black raspberry — bathed in bright, mouthwatering acidity. The solid structure of mountain-grown fruit, with just a hint of mineral essence, appears near the finish as the flavors linger.
Perfect with barbecued chicken with a side of pesto pasta, or braised short ribs served with garlic mashed potatoes.
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged View & Vineyard Notes
Over the years, we have produced a number of different incarnations of the beloved but often neglected Carignane. My father, in the 1990s, bottled some from old blocks farmed by the Mengali family, and starting in 2000, the Zero Manipulation blend was born. More recently we have been buying Old Vine Carignane from the neighbors at Forchini, and made the decision to plant a small amount in our Estate Bradford Mountain Vineyard, to bottle in select years.
Planted in our mineral-rich, nutrient-deprived mountain soil, the expression this earthy, naturally high-toned variety takes on is truly unique. This is the rare vintage where the Carignane stood alone well enough to bottle on its own. While delicious in the near term, this should develop, soften, and hold its fruit for up to a decade.
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, LA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY
Labrat, here. I received a bottle of the Carignane. I’m not familiar with this varietal and decided to taste without researching so that I wouldn’t have any preconceived ideas of what it should taste like. First impression on pouring was that there is a lot of sediment, with a fair amount clinging to the cork. I reread the label more carefully, which said it’s unfiltered and that is definitely the case. It has pretty definite berry aromas and smells a little sharp, kind of like a pinot, but less spicy. It tastes pretty heavily of strawberry, and feels a bit thin in the mouth, without a lot of initial depth. It’s not very acidic or heavily tannic. Overall pleasant.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
Peterson Winery Mixed Reds - $70 = 29.16%
My wife and I (Virginia residents) did our big 25th anniversary trip (3 years late) to Sonoma county, last week of April (got back last Saturday). I’ve only had a couple Peterson wines, but they were both great (especially at the casemates price!)
We’ve noticed over the past few years that we’ve tended to like “farmer first” wines. Where the effort and strategy for making the wine excellent was spent more in the field, than at the barrel. So of course, we visited the Peterson tasting room. (which I would highly suggest.) Tried a lot of wines, maybe 10?
So not surprising, and now definitely confirmed, is this: For varietals we liked, we very much liked the Peterson version. No surprises, all what was varietally expected, but also with plenty of character. No disappointments. All very good representations. If you’re Rhone folks, these should hit you just dandy. At the winery, the price was right. The price here are very, very right.
I’m in the hole, budget wise, more than ever. But can’t pass these up. Will probably have to share some.
Hi everyone! Happy Saturday from a (still) rainy Northern California.
We thought this would be a great mix of our Rhone style reds for summertime stock ups. All three are on the more zesty/lower tannin side of the body spectrum, with overlapping flavors but distinct nuanced personalities.
We are getting low on the 2018 Zero and 2016 GSM, so wanted to offer a mixed pack in case they sell out. Only made 100 cases of the Carignane as well, and it’s newly released this month, and chose it as fun third wine in the Rhone blend pack.
Will be checking in if there’s any questions on the wine, and general discussion. Thank you!!!
@PetersonWinery Always appreciate vintner participation on this site. Indeed I was wondering about what led to this combo and you’ve explained that including the bit about the Carignane which was an intriguing new addition that sounded very good. I’ve had the Zero and GSM before, and enjoyed them (not sure which vintages). So yes this combined offer along with your info is likely to push me over the edge.
@winedavid or Mods, someone please give this guy a Vintner heading!
@PetersonWinery
A word of thanks for dropping in, and the transparency in publishing your labs. While they may not mean much to some, to others they will enable the “buy” decision.
I see too @PeixeGato has asked about potential cellar life. Any insight to share there as well? Those ‘drink by’ dates in cellar tracker, while interesting, aren’t all that helpful.
Here’s hoping you make it back again while the offer is live and still available.
@PeixeGato@rjquillin thank you! Transparency is definitely something we value, in our winemaking and our marketing. Always glad when we find folks that appreciate it too.
All three would be fine to hold; our winemaking without dining/filtration, and style choice of harvesting with lower pH and higher acidity leads to wines that age gracefully. The GSM I think I’d prefer consumed in the next three years. It’ll develop some more of the savory and earthy qualities and deepen/soften some more, but I feel like the fruit will be fading after a couple more. So depends on the palate.
The Zero under screwcap can hold for a while. Develops less. I opened a 2010 that we did cork vs screwcap trials and it was still very fresh and enjoyable (cork was past its prime by comparison).
The Carignane will only improve for the next 4-6, softening and deepening the palate. There’s enough complexity that I think it will develop some other interesting flavors as well, but Carignane being so much about the juicy red and “purple” fruit quality, I don’t like to lose that with aging it too long.
@PeixeGato@rjquillin pretty much anything of ours 2013 or younger is still
No haven’t tried any of the Sandler wines. I think they do some from Sonoma vineyards and some from down the central coast… a few other distant branches of the Peterson clan out there with vineyards of no close relation too.
2016 Peterson GSM
Sorry for the late labrat, meant to post last night but you know…life – we received the 2016 Peterson GSM last night at the end of an unusually hot spring day. We put it in the fridge for a few minutes just to take the extra heat off the bottle, did a quick pop and pour, and planned to let it breathe a bit before having more. It’s delicious and we were worried we might just finish it all off. So, decided instead to save the rest for our Saturday lunch. On Friday night there was definitely alcohol on the nose, and some came through in the tasting. A bit of sediment. Did I mention it’s delicious. Perfectly balanced. There is enough dryness to pullback on the bright berry and cherry flavors but it’s not a dry wine. On the second day the alcohol in the nose dissipated revealing notes of blackberry, chocolate, leather, and pepper – fitting much better with the taste of the GSM. It’s still delicious and one of the better wines we’ve had the pleasure of tasting through CMs. We’ve enjoyed Peterson wines in the past and for fun and comparison we pulled out our last bottle of Zero Manipulation (2017) to sip both wines side by side. The ZM is a very good wine, dryer and less complex than the GSM. Overall, the GSM is a beautifully balanced wine, not too sweet, not too dry, and not too peppery. It’s bright and inviting. At the case price this is a steal (but would really love if it was all this GSM). Thanks to Alice and team for the opportunity try this fantastic wine!
Coming out of my buying moratorium for a case that is built for me. Peterson is a can’t miss winery; haven’t had a bottle that disappointed yet. And the wines look like they are right up my alley - the GSM with a little age too?! Sorry NeOH mates, no slipts as I want the whole case.
/giphy floppy-feisty-thrill
@pjmartin So glad I grabbed this case. The winery description of the GSM is on point and it is tailor made for my palate. Can sense the age on it and it is in a great place. I will try to pace my consumption to see what it does over a few years, but it will be hard. The Carignane is better with food as there is ample acidity. These Peterson wines are SO good. @Winedavid49 Bring on a repeat offering!
A day later than I had hoped we managed to get this bottle of Peterson Zero Manipulation 2018 opened up a few hours ago.
I appreciate the simplicity of the label as well as the indication of the grapes used - 68% Carignane, 26% Grenache, 6% Syrah.
In the glass this thing is almost opaque and has great legs.
This won’t be a long review. Pouring through aerator (best flavor) we get smooth juiciness with a slight acid punch up front, mellowing out to a blackberry/mixed berry on the end. Not jammy, not sticky. Lovely and drinkable.
The bottle went fast. This isn’t normally what we drink and we were pleasantly surprised (last couple of nights was a barbera that’s popular here).
Quick Edit: Not sure I made this clear - I enjoyed this bottle. It’s quality stuff.
@PeixeGato thank you!!! Hopefully answered the question about aging up in the other comment! Drink in the next few years but no giant rush is the short answer Appreciate your support!
I, like my NE OH Casemates friend @pjmartin, am under a SIWBM. But, I’ve never had a bottle of Peterson that wasn’t absolutely delicious. Even so I was going to pass because I have way to much wine. When @pjmartin let me know he bought a case my FOMO kicked in and a case of Peterson is heading my way!
@killeenbase Estimated delivery is Tuesday, May 30 - Wednesday, May 31 but many times they come before that. Last time I got Peterson it came 10 days before the estimated date
Just had one of our Zero Manipulations from the last offer- and was thinking it was about time for another Peterson to post up. Nice to see this combo and looking forward to trying the GSM and Carignane.
2016 Peterson GSM Red Wine, Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley
Tasting Notes
Jamie’s (Peterson) Vintaged View & Vineyard Notes
Specs
2018 Peterson Zero Manipulation Red Wine, Tollini Vineyard
Tasting Notes
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged View
Tollini Vineyard
Specs
2018 Peterson Carignane, Bradford Mountain Estate Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley
Tasting Notes
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged View & Vineyard Notes
Specs
What’s Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $396/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, LA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Tuesday, May 30 - Wednesday, May 31
Peterson Winery Mixed Reds
3 bottles for $59.99 $20/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $169.99 $14.17/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2016 Peterson GSM Red Wine
2018 Peterson Zero Manipulation Red Wine
2018 Peterson Carignane
2018 Peterson Carignane
Labrat, here. I received a bottle of the Carignane. I’m not familiar with this varietal and decided to taste without researching so that I wouldn’t have any preconceived ideas of what it should taste like. First impression on pouring was that there is a lot of sediment, with a fair amount clinging to the cork. I reread the label more carefully, which said it’s unfiltered and that is definitely the case. It has pretty definite berry aromas and smells a little sharp, kind of like a pinot, but less spicy. It tastes pretty heavily of strawberry, and feels a bit thin in the mouth, without a lot of initial depth. It’s not very acidic or heavily tannic. Overall pleasant.
Peterson= buy. Great weekday wines to have around, and good cellar guards
No idea where to put it, but…any CMH folks interested in a split?
@fermentedwisdom in a similar boat on space; I could be persuaded into 3 and possibly 6; I’m in NW burbs
@fermentedwisdom great to meet you and thanks for the split!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
Peterson Winery Mixed Reds - $70 = 29.16%
Purchasing a case. I would be interested in splitting it. Marin/SF
What can I do to get you to ship to MD?
My wife and I (Virginia residents) did our big 25th anniversary trip (3 years late) to Sonoma county, last week of April (got back last Saturday). I’ve only had a couple Peterson wines, but they were both great (especially at the casemates price!)
We’ve noticed over the past few years that we’ve tended to like “farmer first” wines. Where the effort and strategy for making the wine excellent was spent more in the field, than at the barrel. So of course, we visited the Peterson tasting room. (which I would highly suggest.) Tried a lot of wines, maybe 10?
So not surprising, and now definitely confirmed, is this: For varietals we liked, we very much liked the Peterson version. No surprises, all what was varietally expected, but also with plenty of character. No disappointments. All very good representations. If you’re Rhone folks, these should hit you just dandy. At the winery, the price was right. The price here are very, very right.
I’m in the hole, budget wise, more than ever. But can’t pass these up. Will probably have to share some.
Argh, no shipping to Virginia. Doh! Sigh
Hi everyone! Happy Saturday from a (still) rainy Northern California.
We thought this would be a great mix of our Rhone style reds for summertime stock ups. All three are on the more zesty/lower tannin side of the body spectrum, with overlapping flavors but distinct nuanced personalities.
We are getting low on the 2018 Zero and 2016 GSM, so wanted to offer a mixed pack in case they sell out. Only made 100 cases of the Carignane as well, and it’s newly released this month, and chose it as fun third wine in the Rhone blend pack.
Will be checking in if there’s any questions on the wine, and general discussion. Thank you!!!
@PetersonWinery Always appreciate vintner participation on this site. Indeed I was wondering about what led to this combo and you’ve explained that including the bit about the Carignane which was an intriguing new addition that sounded very good. I’ve had the Zero and GSM before, and enjoyed them (not sure which vintages). So yes this combined offer along with your info is likely to push me over the edge.
@winedavid or Mods, someone please give this guy a Vintner heading!
@PetersonWinery
A word of thanks for dropping in, and the transparency in publishing your labs. While they may not mean much to some, to others they will enable the “buy” decision.
I see too @PeixeGato has asked about potential cellar life. Any insight to share there as well? Those ‘drink by’ dates in cellar tracker, while interesting, aren’t all that helpful.
Here’s hoping you make it back again while the offer is live and still available.
@PeixeGato @rjquillin thank you! Transparency is definitely something we value, in our winemaking and our marketing. Always glad when we find folks that appreciate it too.
All three would be fine to hold; our winemaking without dining/filtration, and style choice of harvesting with lower pH and higher acidity leads to wines that age gracefully. The GSM I think I’d prefer consumed in the next three years. It’ll develop some more of the savory and earthy qualities and deepen/soften some more, but I feel like the fruit will be fading after a couple more. So depends on the palate.
The Zero under screwcap can hold for a while. Develops less. I opened a 2010 that we did cork vs screwcap trials and it was still very fresh and enjoyable (cork was past its prime by comparison).
The Carignane will only improve for the next 4-6, softening and deepening the palate. There’s enough complexity that I think it will develop some other interesting flavors as well, but Carignane being so much about the juicy red and “purple” fruit quality, I don’t like to lose that with aging it too long.
@PeixeGato @PetersonWinery
Appreciate those insights especially for those 30+ of your bottles I now have cellared
Have you sampled any of the Sandler PN bottled from your what seems to by your vineyards?
@PeixeGato @rjquillin pretty much anything of ours 2013 or younger is still
No haven’t tried any of the Sandler wines. I think they do some from Sonoma vineyards and some from down the central coast… a few other distant branches of the Peterson clan out there with vineyards of no close relation too.
@PetersonWinery @rjquillin Thanks so much for the reply!
@PetersonWinery
Great participation; you got me for a case
2016 Peterson GSM
Sorry for the late labrat, meant to post last night but you know…life – we received the 2016 Peterson GSM last night at the end of an unusually hot spring day. We put it in the fridge for a few minutes just to take the extra heat off the bottle, did a quick pop and pour, and planned to let it breathe a bit before having more. It’s delicious and we were worried we might just finish it all off. So, decided instead to save the rest for our Saturday lunch. On Friday night there was definitely alcohol on the nose, and some came through in the tasting. A bit of sediment. Did I mention it’s delicious. Perfectly balanced. There is enough dryness to pullback on the bright berry and cherry flavors but it’s not a dry wine. On the second day the alcohol in the nose dissipated revealing notes of blackberry, chocolate, leather, and pepper – fitting much better with the taste of the GSM. It’s still delicious and one of the better wines we’ve had the pleasure of tasting through CMs. We’ve enjoyed Peterson wines in the past and for fun and comparison we pulled out our last bottle of Zero Manipulation (2017) to sip both wines side by side. The ZM is a very good wine, dryer and less complex than the GSM. Overall, the GSM is a beautifully balanced wine, not too sweet, not too dry, and not too peppery. It’s bright and inviting. At the case price this is a steal (but would really love if it was all this GSM). Thanks to Alice and team for the opportunity try this fantastic wine!
Coming out of my buying moratorium for a case that is built for me. Peterson is a can’t miss winery; haven’t had a bottle that disappointed yet. And the wines look like they are right up my alley - the GSM with a little age too?! Sorry NeOH mates, no slipts as I want the whole case.
/giphy floppy-feisty-thrill
@pjmartin So glad I grabbed this case. The winery description of the GSM is on point and it is tailor made for my palate. Can sense the age on it and it is in a great place. I will try to pace my consumption to see what it does over a few years, but it will be hard. The Carignane is better with food as there is ample acidity. These Peterson wines are SO good. @Winedavid49 Bring on a repeat offering!
A day later than I had hoped we managed to get this bottle of Peterson Zero Manipulation 2018 opened up a few hours ago.
I appreciate the simplicity of the label as well as the indication of the grapes used - 68% Carignane, 26% Grenache, 6% Syrah.
In the glass this thing is almost opaque and has great legs.
This won’t be a long review. Pouring through aerator (best flavor) we get smooth juiciness with a slight acid punch up front, mellowing out to a blackberry/mixed berry on the end. Not jammy, not sticky. Lovely and drinkable.
The bottle went fast. This isn’t normally what we drink and we were pleasantly surprised (last couple of nights was a barbera that’s popular here).
Quick Edit: Not sure I made this clear - I enjoyed this bottle. It’s quality stuff.
Hey hey hey! I could drink Peterson wine just about every day! Can these be aged much longer or are they in a “drink now” state of being?
@PeixeGato thank you!!! Hopefully answered the question about aging up in the other comment! Drink in the next few years but no giant rush is the short answer
Appreciate your support!
I, like my NE OH Casemates friend @pjmartin, am under a SIWBM. But, I’ve never had a bottle of Peterson that wasn’t absolutely delicious. Even so I was going to pass because I have way to much wine. When @pjmartin let me know he bought a case my FOMO kicked in and a case of Peterson is heading my way!
/giphy cautious-psychedelic-ginger
Happy Mother’s Day!
Thanks!
Any SE Michigan interested in 3 or 6?
/giphy motionless-dear-squid
Recently moved to the King Field neighborhood of Minneapolis and would share up to half the case if anyone is interested
When will this ship?
@killeenbase Estimated delivery is Tuesday, May 30 - Wednesday, May 31 but many times they come before that. Last time I got Peterson it came 10 days before the estimated date
Just had one of our Zero Manipulations from the last offer- and was thinking it was about time for another Peterson to post up. Nice to see this combo and looking forward to trying the GSM and Carignane.
/giphy resourceful-ebbing-desire
/giphy special-martial-crab
