10/2/2017 - Ecbatana Likes this wine:

A rich, inky, redolent wine. Clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, barberry & middle eastern spice right away. Then dense, rich fruit cake, some Chambord, blackberry compote followed with a little sea air. Quite an introduction. Palate on this little beauty, while not super dense, brings with it meaningful tannins and noticeable mountain fruit minerality and intensity (and less sweet than many of its compadres using valley floor fruit). Great stuff. Coravined a glass, put the rest away for another day. My loss for not discovering Bob Foley's wines before now.

11/23/2017 - JRDillon Likes this wine:

For Thanksgiving dinner I decided to open my three oldest bottles of Pegau, a 2001, a 2003 and a 2004. All three were excellent choices for a massive turkey and dressing meal with sweet potatoes, green-bean casserole with bacon, and numerous other food choices. All three vintages were in very different phases. The 2001, unfortunately, had moved well past its prime and definitely had a muted quality that despite three hours of decant would not allow the primary flavors that were so present in its youth to emerge. It was still delicious in its subtle way, but disappointing in that it had faded so far. Hints of fruit and terroir clearly were hiding in there somewhere, but overall there was very little, if any, tannic structure left. Nevertheless, two of the women in our party cited this wine as their favorite of the three. Even so, if you still have any of these, I highly recommend drinking up as soon as possible. The 2003 was the winner, imo, and was still singing with a delicious fruity tartness and gobs of earthy, barnyard terroir. This one, like the 2001, had dropped a weight class even though the decline was not nearly as pronounced. I just remember this wine at the five-year mark being one of the greatest wines I have ever tasted, but, despite its complex brilliance, this particular bottle did not come close to replicating that experience. That it shone above the others was not a surprise considering the high marks this vintage received. Moving on to the 2004, I found this one to be a bit clipped, with less depth and complexity, though still in fine shape and carrying a healthy weight. This vintage just does not stack up with the other two, and even at its peak was a substandard representation of Pegau, imo. I don't want to convey that these wines were not delicious; they all were, and most importantly, all three were a perfect complement to the outstanding meal. But none of them reached the sublime level I have experienced so many times in the past with Pegau and have almost come to expect. Thankfully, these were not the only bottles of these vintages I have owned, so I have tasted all three at much younger ages. To be honest, I have not had much luck with aged wines (10+ years) of any kind lately, and I am becoming more and more of a proponent of drinking them early, or earlier anyway. Whether Bordeaux, Cali cabs, or CDPs, I am finding the five-year mark to be a sweet spot for maximum enjoyment as a general rule, but feel free to disagree.

12/28/2016 - Matt Scott Likes this wine:

The chanteuse of St. Helena returns with prowess. Though this is hidden within the carapace, the terroir and pedigree shines through. Black cherry, currant paste, cedar, fire pit, blackberry and green tobacco. Tannins at the vanguard, that are pillowy and coating, with a long and focused finish. Please cellar. I am absolutely captivated by this mythic and sultry Athena. Drink 2020 -.

11/29/2014 - JohnW3 wrote:

This wine has continued to get better with a little cellar age. Great balance with the right amount of fruit and smooth tannins.

12/20/2014 - slippytoad wrote:

As another reviewer said, heavy on graphite, light on fruit. Not what I remember from the winery tasting.

12/6/2013 - wren460 wrote:

Delicious wine! Dark red fruit, This wine will only get better and I believe the prime will be in 5 years or so. Very good to excellent...but at $200 it should be!

9/8/2013 - rocknroller wrote:

Dark red color. PNP, followed 1 glass plus over 2-3 hours. To call this an utter disappointment would be a gross understatement. Upon opening this was an alcoholic nightmare. The nose reeked of alcohol and the palate was alcohol, oak and more oak. Placed in decanter and checked at various points over the next 2 plus hours in addition to the original glass. After about 40 minutes this improved to the point where the nose became better, somewhat Port-like with raisin, plum, kirsch and some earth with oak and spices. The palate became marginally better, thin on the palate, medium body at best, heat, pepper, black raspberry, red plum, oak, firm tannins. Day 2 was mildly better, the nose improved, showing cedar, tobacco, red plum, spice, oak. The palate was still thin but had a bit nicer mouthfeel, pepper, heat, kirsch, plum, oak. 87 may be pushing it. not quite sure what to make of this, hopefully an aberration with this bottle, we shall as there are more to come.