Gary Vaynerchuk & Ian Dorin (Wine Library) and Enrique Ibañez (IPO Wines) visit La Pèira

Enrique Ibañez, Gary Vaynerchuk & Ian Dorin

@ The Old Chai/La Pèira

A long long time ago…

Three wise men appeared at our place from the East (the East Coast at least) guided by a shining star (Eric Solomon perhaps)…So it was that unexpectedly one Sunday morning Gary Vaynerchuk & Ian Dorin of the WineLibrary and Enrique Ibañez  from IPO Wines came to La Pèira to taste.

One of our team was on crutches with a foot in plaster: The other entirely absent on a birthday stay at Gerard Basset’ s excellent Hotel TerraVina.

It’ s pretty hard to find La Pèira and only a few have worn out leather to get there. David Schildknecht visited earlier this week, Eric Solomon and his great team at European Cellars have visited, as has Jeffrey Davies (le fouilleur de cru himself). And that nearly adds up to everyone in our visitor book to date from the US…

It’s as a result of these kind and curious visits that wines become available (ours in the US through Eric Solomon’ s European Cellars) and we have the pleasure of seeing some reactions.

Here’s a few so far…

La Peira 2005 | La Pèira en Damaisèla | Terrasses Du Larzac ‘The flagship wine from this new venture is easily going to be the next great global cult wine. Think Clos Erasmus or Masseto; that’s the level of quality that this wine brings! Dense, rich and explosive, with layer after layer of flavor and complexity. Ripe, but never over-the-top, this stunning effort should easily last 25 to 30 years.’ (Wine Library)

La Peira 2005 | La Pèira en Damaisèla | Terrasses Du Larzac | 95 I first had this wine in Charlotte at a European Cellars seminar. Both this wine as well as their white and the Flor de la Peira where the highlights of the tasting. This property is from the same town as Grange des Pères yet tastes absolutely nothing like it. First of all, I opened and decanted the wine yesterday at noon to take to dinner last night. I never went to dinner so i put the wine back in the bottle around 6:00pm. I went back to the wine today and this stuff is massive. Inky black color. The nose just screams out at you. Its all dark fruits like damsel plums, coffee, licorice and coriander. This is a big wine with tons of glycerin and extract but it has the tannins and acid in balance. Its a really fun wine to taste now but I think it will something really special in a few years.11/23/2008 Ronnie Sanders (Vine Street Imports – Two Hands etc) © 2003-08 CellarTracker! LLC

2005-2006 | La Pèira en Damaisèla | Terrasses Du Larzac LA PEIRA– This is a new Languedoc estate in the Solomon portfolio.  Situated nearby the famed Grange des Peres and Mas de Daumas estates in L’Herault, I was knocked out by the quality here.  One of the owners here is Rob Dougan, who composed the score for The Matrix.  Nice guy!  Anyway, the wines had a denser, riper feel to them than Daumas, and less “garriguey” than Grange, loaded with fruit, with enough of the garrigue character to speak of their terroir, their lower-end Carignan blend was great, the mid-range wine superb, and the over-the-top, flagship bottling almost too much (and priced accordingly), but what an impressive debut nonetheless… (Kyle Meyer–Wine Exchange)

Las Flors de La Pèira 2005 | La Pèira en Damaisèla | Terrasses Du Larzac “Insanely good value, even at this price. This is cut from the cloth of a Clio or a Numanthia; killer good wine in the bottle, huge potential for good scores and a reasonable price. Super ripe, complex and well balanced enough with earth, this fantastic wine needs to be tried”  (Wine Library)

Las Flors de La Pèira 2005 | La Pèira en Damaisèla | Terrasses Du Larzac 92 Deep dark cherry red. Needed about an hour to really show its stuff, but this is really impressive booze. (12/9/2008 Ronnie Sanders (of Vine Street Imports) © 2003-08 CellarTracker! LLC

Deusyls de la Pèira 2006 | La Pèira en Damaisèla | Vin de Pays de l’Hérault  “This brilliant white has more in common with top notch white Hermitage than anything else. Viscous, oily, rich and dense (almost tannic like a red), with waxy fruit flavors and jam packed with fresh honey. This should age nicely for 10 to 15 years.” (Wine Library)

Deusyls de la Pèira 2006 | La Pèira en Damaisèla | Vin de Pays de l’Hérault 91 Golden yellow color. Very fresh nose, almost waxey. Pretty young wine that I think needs some time to develop. Lots of apple, pineapple, peach and white flowers. Looks like a young hermitage. Very good wine. (12/5/2008 Ronnie Sanders (of Vine Street Imports)© 2003-08 CellarTracker! LLC

Obriers de La Pèira 2006 | La Pèira en Damaisèla | Terrasses Du Larzac  91 In glass 30 minutes. Inky purple color. Massive nose shows pencil lead, guava, wet clay, paste, and mint leafs. This is a brooding nose, but fantastic as it’s earthy aromas as opposed to fruity ones. Very soft and creamy in the mouth showing some oak spice. Finish is also quite spicy, showing deep, opulent cherry and blackberry flavors, after an initial bitterness. This has silky tannins with no harsh edges on the finish. Definitely delicious and a great value. (11/17/2008 dbp) © 2003-08 CellarTracker! LLC

Obriers de La Pèira 2006 | La Pèira en Damaisèla | Terrasses Du Larzac Olives, mild smoky oak, ripe red and dark fruit. This a big ripe sweet full throttle fruit bomb. The French answer to Aussie Shiraz. 65% Cinsault, 35% Carignan. RP gave it a 93. The wine is sound, well made, and not for me. (Richard Trimpi on Mark Squire’s Bulletin Board) 

There it is – most good, one not so.  But whether your buying wine in London or Boston, or making it on the Terrasses du Larzac or in Barolo, the chance to read what others think – good or bad  – on Cork’ d, Snooth, CellarTracker!, Mark Squire’s Bulletin Board, or anywhere else, is a small miracle.

Some Other Worthwhile Tasting Notes / Articles

 Click for Andrew Jefford’s article below.

 

Click for Wine Library TV Gary Vayernerchuk’s Full Tasting Notes

 

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