January 21, 2022 – Want to know what happens when two brilliant creative minds come together like a Hadron Collider in the cellar? Look no further than Folktale Winery. Winemaker David Baird is constantly coming up with new ideas for wines and Folktale Owner, Gregory Ahn, never tires of developing fun names and labels for them. On occasion, though, Baird thinks something sounds cool and Ahn thinks it’s too “out there,” but this is rare, as the two seem to enjoy playing a game of one upmanship that benefits club members.
Baird, who recently relocated from Carmel to Soquel, brought a bevvy of beautiful bottles, some of them naked of labels, to taste with me and Matt Schofield at VinoCruz. I’d been dying to know how that “Haliotis” undersea sparkling turned out, and suffice it to say, anything he makes from the Sangiovese on Folktale’s Carmel Valley property gets my vote. This one gets two thumbs up, even if they ended up in a wee bit of hot water on account of it. Apparently, the Coastal Commission wasn’t amused or charmed by wine being aged in an abalone cage, so this super fascinating kissed by an octopus experiment will be one and done. Still a few bottles are available to wine club members. It’s a rarity you should grab while you can. Serving up watermelon jelly, Golden delicious apples and guava in delicate and delightful bubbles, you would not go wrong to enjoy it with Monterey abalone.
Almost sold out now, the 2021 Folktale Nouveau of Gamay is akin to Pet Nat in its urge to be freed from the bottle. A product of carbonic fermentation, this is bottled up exuberance, ready to pulsate. Only 20 cases of this ode to the current harvest were made. It was released on Nouveau Day, the third Thursday of November, in the tradition of Beaujolais Nouveau in France. Only 3 cases remain, so make haste. This jewel-toned beauty is packed with vibrant cherry and baking spice, layered with almond paste and accented by cardamom and white pepper. Made from the first leaf of the replant of Ventana Vineyard, it’s utterly compelling, like a theme park ride that scares you at first, but then hooks you with that seductive adrenaline rush.
The brand new 2021 Folktale Rosé of Pinot Noir, sourced from Mission Ranch, is the perfect color: you couldn’t ask for a prettier shade of pale pink, like dawn’s early light with a sparkle of moondust. A nose of gardenia and rhubarb is met by flavors of watermelon, strawberry and guava, ending with a finish of sweet tarts. The weather is crazy warm and sunny: you need this.
Do you love Sauv Blanc as much as I do? Arroyo Seco just aces this grape. Folktale’s 2021 Sauvignon Blanc from the Musquée clone grown by Mark Chesebro at the Cedar Lane Vineyard in Arroyo Seco, melds floral and grassy, in a France meets New Zealand style that serves up gooseberry, lemongrass and melon, with a punch of peach and fresh grapefruit. Wonderfully energetic, and at 12.5%, the perfect mid-day refresher.
Ideal for those who want something slightly celebratory but not quite as bubbly as a sparkling or pet nat is the brand new 2021 Folktale Verdejo from Clarksburg. Called “The Child,” the label looks a lot like the Christchild in the manger, and it sure does capture the freshness of this grape. Billed as an early release with slight effervescence, Baird says it is picked and fermented in a youthful style, best enjoyed young. We love the bright pineapple guava, gooseberry and white currant flavors that really deliver on the fresh cut pineapple aromas. This could be my new favorite wine to welcome the New Year, before it starts feeling like the same old calendar of crap.
A bit more heft is apparent in the 2020 Folktale Le Mistral Viognier, which is really quite restrained for this typically heady and perfumey grape. Grapes from Cedar Lane in Arroyo Seco are fermented in neutral French oak with native yeast, producing a clean, white pear, lime and apricot filled white that smacks of French brioche toast.
Baird says the “White Witch,” named for the raucous Westerly wind that visits Monterey vineyards each afternoon, was so popular, he had to make it again. The 2021 version was made from roughly one third each Roussane and Marsanne from Boekenoogen’s Paloma Creek Vineyard in Carmel Valley. They were joined by racy Viognier from Cedar Lane, with a tiny bit of Grenache Blanc from Mission Ranch. This is rich and medium weight, with ripe fruit flavors of kumquat, peach pie and apricot jam, melded nicely with marzipan and graham cracker, and lifted by a persistent and bright acidity. Its texture is not unlike crème Anglaise, and the finish is white chocolate covered hazelnuts. A most satisfying wine, and yet only 13%. Quite a mouthful, and no wonder it sold out so quickly last vintage. Make haste!
We wrapped up the tasting with the 2020 Folktale Mission Ranch Pinot Noir, from an historic vineyard in Arroyo Seco, planted by the Mirassou family in 1961, and now farmed by Mark Chesebro. Done in neutral oak and concrete, this grippy, engaging garnet colored, rose scented wine speaks of its heritage clonal origins, where earthy and spicy Pommard and Swan are amplified by the blackberry fruit of clone 777. An altogether top down driving experience, with the Pacific wind full in your face, this will wake up all your tastebuds. I love a Pinot Noir with attitude.
About the author
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
