2012 Le P’tit Paysan, Le P’tit Pape, San Benito County.
Ian Brand’s Le P’tit Paysan based in Salinas is a wonderful winery focusing on Central Coast grapes, mostly in Monterey and just north in San Benito County, where they have some great old vine vineyards that are starting to get some real attention, and that love is showing in Brand’s well crafted Le P”tit Pape, a tasty treat Chateauneuf du Pape style Rhone blend. The 2012 Le P’tit Paysan Le P’tit Pape is 53% Grenache, 28% Syrah and 19% Mourvedre and it is rich, delightfully fresh and spicy with a cascade of flavors, nice grip and lovely finish with a nose of red fruit, wild herbs, chalky stones, light floral notes and a hint of framboise. The palate lined with fine grained tannins shows raspberry, boysenberry, red cherry and pomegranate fruits along with lavender, anise, peppercorns, a touch of leather, dusty gravel and light cedar, finishing with a play of savory elements and pleasing cassis. This nicely balanced red blend is showing well right now and is a superb value in it’s price class, Brand is really making some good wines, as well as this one, he is doing a Viognier and Chardonnay, both exciting wines with loads of character and interest, and under the La Marea label a single varietal Mourvedre, Albarino and Grenache, also worth searching out. The Le P’tit Pape 2012 is a stylish effort that is a wine to drink in the next 2 to 3 years, it is really hitting it’s stride right now, though I might put a couple of bottles away, it might be very rewarding to re-visit in 5 to 10 years time, this is fun stuff, best from 2015 to 2018.
($22 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive
