Chateau
de Peña 
Les Vignerons de Cases de Pene.
Cellier Agly.
Chateau de Pena.
These names all describe the Cooperative winery of the hamlet of
Cases de Pene in Roussillon, but Americans simply call it ‘Peña’.
Five growers jointly own the vineyards of the original Chateau. Another
five also grow wine full time for a living. Every other family in
the village owns a few acres, mostly of Vin de Pays.
Unsolved Mysteries The heart and soul of Peña is Joseph Gonzalez, who is a mere
employee, owning no vineyards and therefore not a Coop member. His
education ended with a diploma from the local Lycee (the equivalent
of an American vocational high school). He should have spent his life
as a cellar rat, not head winemaker for a 100,000 case winery.
High intelligence, a great work ethic and meticulous attention to
detail assured that his future would not be limited to hauling hoses.
A brilliant flair for winemaking and an instinctive and profound knowledge
of the vineyards and terroir have propelled him to his current position.
He has been offered more money by wealthier large Estates in Roussillon.
Fortunately Joseph Gonzalez really loves his work – dealing
with the full complement of growers and having major input into the
types and styles of wines produced at Peña. Having worked with
him now for over a dozen years, I no longer find it mysterious that
this short, slight, quiet, modest man is in charge of winemaking at
Pena. The real mystery is why I have never heard anybody call Joseph
Gonzalez anything but ‘Tony’.
It’s in The Vineyards
You can make bad wine from good grapes, but you can’t make
good wine from bad grapes. And you can’t get good grapes from
bad vineyards. Vineyards can be planted to the wrong varietals, on
the wrong rootstocks, in the wrong soil, the wrong climate, the wrong
exposure, the wrong slope. Once those pitfalls are avoided, you have
to take good care of your vines.
One of Tony’s greatest contributions to Cases de Pene is his
instinctive understanding of what the vines require. During the miserable
summer of 2004 he once again insisted that the growers field prune
severely. He has no authority to do this, but the growers know that
it would be folly to ignore Tony’s advice. Most of Roussillon
had a huge crop of dilute wine. Peña had a normal crop of satisfyingly
hefty wine.
As Peña expands, so do the vineyards. When Jean-Christophe
Bourquin (see ‘Tony is not alone’ below) joined the Coop,
he brought a huge resource of almost 100 acres of vines, including
50 acres of 10 - 20 year old Vin de Pays Syrah. Other Coop members
are trying international varietals. They have planted Merlot, Cabernet
Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Viognier. The Viognier has been particularly
successful and has been added to our growing selection of Peña
wines.
Tony is Not Alone Several years ago the Coop accepted Jean-Christophe Bourquin, whose
vineyards are partly in Cases de Pene and partly in a neighboring
village, as not only a member but Coop President. Jean-Christophe
brings decisive intelligence and high ambitions for the Coop to the
job. He is an integral part of Peña’s increasing success.
Pierre Vilert, one of the full time winegrowers, also runs the day-to-day
affairs of the Coop with a canny farmer’s intelligence, an eagerness
to help and a long term outlook.
When Genevieve-Roberte Lacoste retired as sales and office manager,
I thought she would be irreplaceable. Helene Merou has more than filled
her shoes. In a village of short, swarthy Catalans, Helene stands
out… well, Dashiel Hammett said “like a black widow spider
on a piece of angel food cake”. Except, as you can see from
the photo, that analogy isn’t very good either.
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The Wines
There are a plethora. Those imported regularly are listed in boldface.
Others are brought in on request. As the young vines mature and Tony
masters the new wines in the lineup, the range imported may increase.
Cuvee de Peña
The world’s friendliest red wine. A blend of Syrah, Grenache,
Carignan and sometimes Mourvedre, the blend changes annually. The ’04
is 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 20% Carignan. This is now imported
to the U.S. both in bottle and 3 litre bag-in-box.
Ninet de Peña
Rouge
The Coop’s first effort with red Bordeaux grapes,
a blend of 50/50 Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Ninet de Peña Rose
A blend of 60/40 Syrah and Grenache, not very light in color but
light, crisp and zingy on the palate. Like being out with a very
sassy date.
Ninet de Peña Blanc
A new wine, 100% Viognier. Much of the
Viognier grown in the south has the aromatics cooked out before harvest.
Not Peña’s,
not on Tony’s watch!
Cotes du Roussillon Villages
Mostly Grenache, with Carignan and Syrah. This is the entry level
Appellation wine.
Chateau de Peña
Medium bodied, luscious, ripe, a warm mouthful
drinking above its weight. The usual blend is about 25% each Syrah,
Grenache, Mourvedre and Carignan.
Chateau de Peña ‘fut de chene’
The same wine as the above, but aged a year in primarily old oak,
for polish, not oak flavors.Chateau de Peña Reserve ‘C’
A selection of primarily Carignan from the oldest and finest parcels.
Created by Tony at the suggestion of HPS, it is aged fifteen months
in half new, half one year old oak barrels, 75% French. A revelation
for those who think that Carignan can’t make fine wine.
Chateau de Peña Reserve ‘S’
The counterpart of the above. The Syrah parcels employed are not
very old, but are planted on sloping benches with very poor soil.
Yields are under two tons per acre. Same oak regime except that 75%
of the barrels are American. A good value powerhouse.Rivesaltes
These are sweet wines, the traditional wines of the region. Four
different ones are produced at Peña. They are as good as any,
but the American market for this style of wine has always been tiny
and now it is shrinking in France as well. Peña continues to
produce these wines in (with one exception) diminishing quantities.
Rivesaltes
A yellow white wine produced from equal parts
Grenache Noir, Gris and Blanc. Aged 3 years in cuve, it is made in
an oxidized style not unrelated to some sherries. 9% residual sugar,
16% alchol.
Muscat de Rivesaltes
There are actually two of these. A non-vintage is blended from the
current and previous vintage and bottled in the fall before harvest.
The Chateau de Pena Muscat de Rivesaltes is vintage-dated and bottled
very young and fresh, usually early November. This is the only wine
showing increasing sales. 11% residual sugar, 16% alcohol.
Chateau
de Peña Rivesaltes
This is a full sweet red wine, 100%
Grenache, bottled young the spring after harvest and released
with a few years of bottle age. 10% residual sugar, 18% alcohol.
Rivesaltes Vieux
This starts life as a full sweet red, but is aged 8 years in large
old barrels. When bottled, the style is between that of a Tawny Port
and an Oloroso Sherry. 10% residual sugar, 18% alcohol.
Red Vin de Pays
This is the biggest production at
Peña, most of it in the
style of Cuvee de Peña. This is one of my favorite wines, and
not just for value. Besides being amazingly friendly, it tastes like
where it comes from, a rare achievement for wine at this price level.
The whole Peña organization is as lively, cheerful and friendly
as anyone could want, like a poster child for what the world of wine
is supposed to be.
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