FEBRUARY 2022 WINE OF THE MONTH

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On the northern end of Napa Valley where the Mayacamas and Vaca mountain ranges converge in the Calistoga AVA sits Perliss Estate Vineyards. You won’t really see them on any winery maps and there are no ostentatious signs proclaiming their presence. It’s the type of place immune from your GPS; it’s not on Highway 29 and not on the Silverado Trail. Directions amount to making a turn at the third gravelly driveway past a certain road sign after the black pig farm (which turned out to be actual pigs). Finding it is part initiation and part victory. Such was our state of mind upon reaching the “Perliss gates” where a phone call and a password was then needed for final entry. As you might have guessed, this is not a winery open to the general public; we were fortunate to get a private tasting.    

The house sits high on a ridge overlooking a slope of 2.6 acres of vineyards planted to Cabernet Sauvignon. Perliss is a small-production winery of roughly 300 cases a year of Cab and Sémillon, which they source from the nearby Knights Valley AVA of Sonoma County.    

Upon arrival we were greeted warmly by James, who led us into the house and treated us to a glass of their 2019 The Serpents, which is their 100% Sémillon and our February wine of the month. It’s a white wine Bordeaux grape mainly used for blending but at Perliss is a superstar on its own. Aged 16 months in Tuscan terra-cotta amphora and neutral French oak barrels, the wine is full bodied with a wonderful nose of honey. On the palate there is the complexity of toastiness and bright, fresh fruit. This is a wine that can age…and we also were treated to the 2016 vintage…but the 2019 was our favorite.    

So much of wine tasting is about the experience; it informs the appearance, smell, and flavor of wine. James led us about the sloping property amidst the oak trees pouring us Sémillon and their estate Cab and gave us an education in Perliss and the local wine culture in a personable way. In fact, James was well versed in Michigan wine and we traded war stories about our adventures. We felt like we were drinking with an old friend. How can the wine not be great?    

At Peninsula Underground we love when wine provides exceptional value. While Napa Valley is pricey, this Sémillon can be acquired for less than $60. It is well worth it. You can only get it by joining their mailing list. We highly suggest you do. We purchased verticals that go back in their library to 2011.    

For providing an amazing experience and one of the top white wines we have tasted in some time, Perliss Estate Vineyards and their 2019 The Serpents is our February wine of the month.    

Join their mailing list to purchase and follow them here:   

https://www.perlissvineyards.com  

@perlissestate