Back in July of this year, I took one of my best friends to Papapietro Perry in Healdsburg, CA to do some wine tasting. I’ve been drinking Papapietro Perry for years because my parents were members for a really long time and it’s the wine they like to drink with nice home-cooked dinners. On Christmas in 2020, I opened a bottle of 2014 Papapietro Perry Pinot Noir to go with hot pot and my best friend fell in love with it and couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I figured since we’d be in wine country, we should stop at the tasting room so she could try their different Pinots. They welcomed us with a splash of their Rosé of Pinot Noir that had actually sold out! It was one of those things where you’re like, “I hope I don’t like this.” Unfortunately, it was delicious and we couldn’t bring a bottle of it home. Because I have a Priority Wine Pass, we got a complimentary cheese plate with our tasting. Without the pass, the cheese plate is $20, so it’s better to bring your own cheese and crackers. Most wineries will actually let you bring your own snacks since it’s important to have food in your stomach when drinking.
The environment of the winery is so relaxed and the views are incredible. It’s situated on top of a small hill along with maybe five other tasting rooms and overlooks tons of grapevines. We were seated outside because COVID protocols are still in place in California, but why would you want to be inside when it’s gorgeous outside? Not only were the views amazing, but so was the wine!
We started off with the 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. This was actually our favorite of the four wines we tried and we each took a bottle home. I’ve had 2012-2018 vintages of the Papapietro Perry Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and it’s consistently wonderful each year. 2018 is a really great vintage, but if you can find a 2016 vintage somewhere, pick it up ASAP. The 2018 had aromas of cranberries, strawberries, pomegranate, and a slight earthiness.
The second wine we tasted was the 2018 Leras Family Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot. This one was also very good, but had subtle mineral notes which made it different than the first Pinot. The Leras Family Pinot had flavors of tart cherries, strawberries, raspberries, earth, and the slight minerality I mentioned.
Next was the 2018 Peters Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. While this one was delicious, it still wasn’t our favorite. If someone else brought it to a dinner party, we’d love it, but we weren’t in love with it if that makes sense. I think this Pinot had more oak time because it was a bit spicy just like cloves and cinnamon. It also had flavors of raspberries, black cherries, and vanilla.
Finally, we enjoyed the 777 Clones Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Let’s start with what a 777 clone is. The 777 clone is a famous Dijon Clone of Pinot Noir. It’s known for being dark and luscious and that’s exactly what this wine was. It’s deeply colored with aromas of juicy, dark cherry, cola, and baking spices from oak. Different clones produce different styles of wines, but if you ever see 777 clone on the bottle, it’s a good indicator of it being a velvety, rich wine.
If you love Pinot Noir and good views, I highly recommend checking out Papapietro Perry Winery if you’re in the Healdsburg area.
