History
Andy Peay found the 280 acre former apple orchard, the old Peterson Ranch, in 1995; the brothers bought it in 1996 and planted about thirty acres in 1998, expanding in 2001 and 2008. Nick farms, Andy runs the business, and Nick's wife Vanessa Wong, previously winemaker at Peter Michael with time at Lafite-Rothschild and Domaine Jean Gros, has made every wine since the first commercial vintage in 2001.
The Site
The ranch parcel at 33201 Annapolis Road covers 281 deeded acres on a hilltop four miles from the Pacific at roughly 600 to 800 feet, with 53 acres planted just above the fog line on low-fertility marine sandstone, an uplifted seabed that still yields scallop fossils. The vineyard is CCOF certified organic and fish friendly farmed; picking runs weeks behind inland Sonoma on one of the coolest commercial sites in California.
Vines and Blocks
Pinot Noir leads with 34 acres spanning Pommard, Dijon 115, 667, 777 and 828, Swan, Mount Eden, Calera and a suitcase selection; Syrah covers eight steep terraced acres, Chardonnay seven of the coldest in old Wente and Dijon material, with slivers of Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne. The estate Pinots divide by ground: Scallop Shelf for the fossil-bearing shelf above the river, Pomarium, Latin for apple orchard, from blocks ringed by century-old apple trees, and Ama, land in the Kashaya Pomo language, largely from the suitcase-clone Block 7. Les Titans Syrah is named for the two ancient redwoods flanking its blocks; La Bruma is its floral, peppery sibling, and Elanus the rare top-vintage barrel selection.
The Wines
Peay wines are built on restraint: floral, savory Pinot Noir, northern-Rhone-inflected Syrah with black pepper and iron, and taut whites, all marked by the long, cold ripening of the ridge.