Pey-Marin Vineyards
2019 Pey-Marin Dry Riesling "The Shell Mound," Marin County
Highlights
- A refreshingly crisp and bone-dry Riesling grown on the chilly western coast of Marin County
- Rare "Neustadt" clone offers a bright, steely and very delicate aromatic and flavor profile at modest alcohol
- Twenty-nine year-old site in deep, sandy soils provide excellent conditions for a truly unique wine
- No oak, no malo, and no blending showcases purity of well-drained, mature site and unique clonal provenance
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Wine Specs
Vintage
2019
Varietal
Riesling
Appellation
Marin County
Sugar
1.4 g/L
pH
3.27
Residual Sugar
Very Dry
Alcohol %
12.3
Wine Profile
Vineyard Notes
Our “The Shell Mound” Riesling is estate grown in a twenty-nine year-old vineyard located less than eight miles from the frigid Pacific Ocean in western Marin County. The site is heavily influenced by the cold Pacific Oceans considerable climatic prowess. Bud break is earlier than neighboring regions, but “set” and harvest are later than other areas. The net result is a very long & moderate growing season. The vineyard terrain has rolling coastal hills and its soil profile is decomposed marine sandstone which drains well and which is moderately fertile. The site is farmed incorporating organic and sustainable viticultural practices (composting, hand tilling, and diverse cover crops) and also conventional methods and is completely dry-farmed. Our frigid vineyard site gives us naturally high acidity, a hallmark of the great Riesling’s of northern Europe.
Production Notes
Riesling is a noble grape which ruthlessly expresses a purity of place. So for Pey-Marin Riesling we incorporate no new oak, no blending and no malolactic to alter the pure expression of its terroir. Our compact Riesling bunches were hand-harvested and hand-sorted in the field and gently whole cluster pressed (a la champagne method) with multiple press “cuts” to separate the lots. This is a luxury rarely given to Riesling, but we continue to afford it this decadent treatment. After settling, the juice was inoculated using three separate yeasts (Rudisheimer, Colmar & Wadenswil) and cold fermented (59° F) for 33 days capturing its very delicate aromatics, steely, crisp texture and our vineyards terroir. After six months of intensive stirring on these three different yeast lees (develops mouthfeel) we bottled in March 2020 into a stelvin-sealed bottle which perfectly preserves its freshness. We call this special wine “The Shell Mound” after the many mounds of oyster shells left by our predecessors across western Marin County.
Winemaker Notes
2019, our 14th vintage from this unparalleled site, was an excellent vintage; the winter was wet, spring mild and summer had a few modest heat spikes but the Fall was cool and sunny and we harvested in October.
Production
110 cases
