Jason F.
Yelp
Some special wines are served up at Clos Pegase Winery, which is only appropriate as it truly is an experience just to visit their unique tasting room. Located along the St. Helena Highway in the southern area of Calistoga, Clos Pegase Winery opened in 1987, which makes it one of Napa Valley's newer wineries on the block so speak as it is known for its huge monolithic tasting room that has a postmodern look that was designed by famed architect Michael Graves, who was looking to evoke memories of a European ancestry by merging modern architecture with ancient cultures of the Mediterranean. A friend and I were looking for an late morning wine tasting in the area, and their Mixed Estate Flight for 40 dollars a person was in our price range, plus the chance to check out their property had us both intrigued as their winery sits in the valley as its nestled in by the nearby Napa River but easily viewable from the highway above. Upon entry underneath their massive archway you pass by a noted piece of artwork called The Friendship Bench and we were immediately greeted by a tasting room host with a splash of their 2019 Estate Rosé, which aged in their steel barrel and is considered their poolside wine. This had an aroma of cherry blossom and apricot and bright acidity lingered on the palate. From there we sat out on their outdoor patio with fifty acres of grapes that served as our backdrop for the day.
Our tasting room associate Nick told us about the history of the founders Jan and Mitsuko Shrem, who met and married in Japan and moved to the valley and bought this property for a cool million dollars after hearing about the big boom going on here in the early 1980s. Although Jan, who is thriving in his nineties no longer own the winery anymore, his influence in the wines they produce here is still felt as Clos Pegase Winery focuses on smaller lots, as if they were a smaller winery in the valley, which is remarkable considering their well-known presence thanks to their iconic winery and tasting room. For our second pour, we enjoyed their 2019 Mitsuko's Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, which is named after the winery founder's wife, and was sourced in the Carneros region of Southern Napa, aged in their steel barrel and had an aroma of guava and kiwi and flavors of peaches and pears that gave this wine a nice crisp finish. Our third pour was their 2018 Hommage Chardonnay, which like their Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from Carneros. Aged in their oak barrels for twenty-two months, with aroma of brioche and hay, if that can be considered a combination, with a smooth coat on the palate you can taste the notes of butterscotch and melon and unlike many Chardonnay wines was not too buttery.
For our fourth and fifth pours, we finally got to enjoy their red wines as their 2018 Mitsuko's Vineyard Pinot Noir whose grapes are sourced from both the Carneros region and from eighty acres in nearby St. Helena. Aged in French barrel oak, this Pinot Noir had a deep red color when poured in our wine glasses and had an aroma of cherry and spices and had a peppery yet smooth finish balanced by subtle crisp tannins. Nick said this wine would pair perfectly with a light salad topped with steak. Their 2017 Hommage Cabernet Sauvignon is grown all on property, which is known as the Tenma Vineyard. This wine had a dark purple color to it, had both oak and vanilla on the nose, and black cherries, blackberries and cocoa on the palate. At $125 a bottle this was definitely their most prized wine and we were so impressed that they include this wine on their Estate Tasting, but when purchased it will only age for the better with time. We had a wonderful time at Clos Pegase Winery, as you can't get more emblematic of the wine tasting experience in Napa Valley thanks to the lush wine that you would find here. And they are hard to find in many stores, so buy when you can, as we appreciated that there was no hard sell to join their wine club or purchase a bottle this afternoon from their very gracious staff. Sometimes one comes to the valley for the experience and you need to take it all in, and at Clos Pegase Winery they appreciate that fact.
