Pym-Rae estate spotlight
James Suckling TV puts Alfred Tesseron on camera at the former Robin Williams Mount Veeder estate that is now Pym-Rae, the Tesseron family's Napa wine.
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2019 Tesseron Estate 'Pym-Rae' Mount Veeder, USA
Alfred Tesseron's Mount Veeder Cabernet, first Demeter-certified vintage, a 2019 you can open at two hundred fifty dollars.
The 2019 Pym-Rae is 80 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 percent Cabernet Franc, and 5 percent Merlot from Mount Veeder: cassis, violet, graphite, and mountain brush after concrete and 55 percent new French oak, now $250.
Pontet-Canet discipline on a Mount Veeder hillside, not a valley-floor slogan
The Tesseron family bought the former Robin Williams Mount Veeder property in 2016 and named the wine for his children's middle names, Pym and Rae. 2019 is the first vintage certified organic and biodynamic by Demeter USA. Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW at The Wine Independent gave it 100 points. This is the bottle that argues for mountain Cabernet with Bordeaux farming, priced so you can actually pull the cork.
The house
Alfred Tesseron, of Chateau Pontet-Canet, farms this Mount Veeder estate with Jerome Ledit and consultant Michel Rolland.
The wine
80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot. Small concrete vats, then 55% new French oak and concrete for about 18 months. 15% ABV.
The scores
The Wine Independent 100. Jeb Dunnuck 98. Decanter 98. James Suckling 97. Wine Advocate 96.
The drinker
Cassis and violet first. Decant 60 to 90 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Steak au poivre or grilled tomahawk.
Blue and black fruit, then the mountain brush
Cassis, black cherry, and blueberry lead. Violet, graphite, and lavender sit in the middle. Sagebrush and ironstone keep the finish from turning into jam.
A mountain year that kept freshness at altitude. Concrete fermenters and a split elevage of new French oak and concrete were used so the fruit stayed lifted after the tannin set.
Cassis, black cherry, blueberry, violet, graphite, lavender, mountain brush, a hint of dark chocolate.
Full, 15% ABV, ripe grainy tannin, bright acidity, a mineral line from the hillside.
Long, dusty, and spiced. Decant 60 to 90 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Small concrete vats, then oak and concrete together
Fruit is handpicked into small crates, sorted, and destemmed. Fermentation runs in small concrete vats with no pumping and manual temperature control. Elevage is about 18 months in 55 percent new French barrels and concrete eggs. James Suckling noted that split. Wine Advocate described 45 percent new barriques and small concrete tanks. Either way the brief is polish without burying Mount Veeder.
About 20,000 bottles. 15 percent alcohol. First Demeter-certified vintage for the estate.
Decant 60 to 90 minutes. Serve slightly cool. Pepper-crusted steak or a grilled tomahawk.
A Bordeaux family on Robin Williams' mountain
Pym-Rae is the Tesseron family's Napa idea: take the Pontet-Canet biodynamic brief to a high Mount Veeder hillside and keep the name that honors the house that stood there.
The Tesserons bought the former Villa Sorriso, Robin Williams' Mount Veeder property, in 2016. Vines had been planted in the late 1990s.
Jerome Ledit manages the estate. Michel Rolland consults. Dry farming started the day Alfred Tesseron arrived.
The 2019 is the first vintage the estate could stamp Demeter. That is the story in the glass: mountain Cabernet, Bordeaux farming, a name with a human history.
Give the tannin char, pepper, and bone-in richness
Mount Veeder Cabernet wants a hard sear and a pepper crust. Steak au poivre or a grilled tomahawk pull cassis, graphite, and mountain brush through the oak.
Two plates. One steak au poivre with fries. One grilled tomahawk. Both can take mountain tannin.
Decant 60 to 90 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Air is for the violet and graphite, not a rescue.
Steak au Poivre
Peppercorn crust, pan sauce, and fries. Mountain Cabernet's steakhouse landing.
Why it works: Pepper and cream lift the fruit while beef fat softens dusty tannin.
View Recipe for steak au poivre (opens in a new tab)
Grilled Tomahawk Steak
Char, bone-in richness, and a hard crust. The plate that meets Mount Veeder structure.
Why it works: Char and marrow echo graphite and mountain brush while fat rounds the tannin.
View Recipe for grilled tomahawk steak (opens in a new tab)Put Pym-Rae in the cart
Tesseron Mount Veeder, Demeter 2019, The Wine Independent 100. Two hundred fifty dollars.
Put six in the cart. This is mountain Cabernet with a named family and a price that does not match the scores.
