June 16, 2023 – Cool, wine-perfect weather welcomed a crowd of eager sippers to the 30th Annual Monterey Winegrower’s Celebration, expertly staged last weekend by executive director Kim Stemler and her tireless staff and volunteers.
Righteous rosés (Pelio, Talbott, Tira Nanza), pretty Pinots (Rustiqué, Wrath), rapturous Chards (JL Wood, Chalone, Rexford), intense Syrahs (Scratch, Shale Canyon) and even a nicely knitted Bordeaux style blend (Folktale’s 2018 The Hound) kept the audience busy for a full three hours and then some.
So many great food purveyors held up their end of Carmel Culinary Week, including La Balena with sliced porchetta, Todd Fisher’s intense Wagyu steak Caesar salad bites topped with anchovies from The Meatery, Flaherty’s crab cakes and seafood paella, Miss Lippe’s excellent assortment of dumplings, Lumpia Lady 831, Carmel Honey’s popcorn mix and plates of food from Seventh and Dolores, Basil, Yafa and Vesuvio, that I never got to. Muy Churro had little mini bites that went well with Chardonnay, but the absolute lifesaver of the day was Allegro’s Pizzeria, wheeling wagons of pizza through the throng at 3pm, to sate the crowd after wine sampling.
Standout Wines
Various members of my posse throughout the event, including, for a time, Keith and Rita Moon of Wine & Travel Magazine, my friends Susan and Bob (Susan is my self-appointed and extremely competent executive photo director and Bob is tall as the center mast of a schooner, so easy to spot in a crowd) and Ann and Karen, local Carmel residents who are former vineyard and winery owners, took turns sharing our favorite wines. These were among everyone’s top picks of the day. There were so many really excellent wines, we’d be here all day, but these made the highlight reel.
Albatross Ridge 2019 Cuvee Beaudry Chardonnay – Lifted, intense and soaring, this wine, named for winemaker Garrett’s son, is fermented and aged in seasoned French oak barrels for litheness and impeccable balance.
Albatross Ridge 2021 Cuvee Owen Pinot Noir – Again, done with no new oak, this is a forthright and utterly amazing rendition of pure Pommard clone Pinot Noir, bursting with earthiness, lively cranberry, pomegranate, rhubarb and baking spice.
Bernardus 2021 Chardonnay, Sierra Mar Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands – This bastion of many single vineyard Chardonnays has a style for everyone, and this one is for those who love Chardonnay with generous new oak, and a copious amount of white peach, cherry and apple, along with ripe pineapple, on the crisp, yet generous palate. Brilliant on the nose, it stars peonies and gardenias, and the finely focused finish is satisfying and long.
Folktale The Lion For Real – Billed as orange wine, this is definitely not anything you’ve experienced before. Set aside your visual prejudice because this is a delightful cornucopia of flavors that could only come from multiple vintages that have rested together. Think the best multigenerational sitcom you can imagine, and throw in apple, peach, pineapple and pastry.
Folktale 2018 Reserve Chardonnay Monterey, Escolle and Pelio Vineyard –Scott Caraccioli was a bit surprised to learn about the vinous collaboration between grapes from his Escolle Vineyard and those from Pelio in David Baird’s 2018 Folktale Monterey Chardonnay. “It makes sense, though, to combine the SLH and that part of Carmel,” he mused, as we marched off to the Folktale table. Ann Hougham, former owner of Mesa del Sol, noted that it beautifully combined the delicate citrus and orchard fruit of the SLH with the distinctive minerality of the Pelio site.
Joyce 2022 Albarino Arroyo Seco, Cedar Lane – Russell Joyce spares no expense to make the brightest, cleanest whites possible, including this varietally perfect Albarino and companion Vermentino, also from Mark Chesebro’s immaculate Cedar Lane. “I give these wines everything they need in the cellar,” says Joyce. “Including proper temperatures for fermentation, just the right vessels and a quiet place to rest.” The Albarino was done in concrete as well as stainless for a touch of texture that shaves off the steely citrus-driven edge of this grape. CRU was pouring one as well. Someday, it will be Albariño weather.
Kori 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Arroyo Seco, Griva Vineyard – Trying the two SB’s currently under the Kori label, this one and the Reserve, is a great way to see how much difference oak makes, especially on an aromatic white like this. While not as boldly woody as many Napa versions, the Reserve, with its oaky weightiness in the mouth definitely hangs a big Gucci purse on the slim shoulders of a slender young lass clad in a summer dress. The non-reserve is packed with grapefruit, guava, lime and lychee, so refreshingly juicy: an outstanding rendition of the grape.
Rexford 2016 Chardonnay Escolle Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands – By far the most mind-blowing Chardonnay of the day for Ann, Karen and myself, this wine is just at the perfect apex of its trajectory right now. Glowing golden and utterly gorgeous in the nose, with apricot and lemon curd, the acidity is still rocking like Alanis Morrisette, but with the softness of age. Texturally, it is satisfying and leaves no part of your mouth wanting anything more. It is, according to Karen, “the perfect Chardonnay.” Or, as Warren Winiarski would say, “Just enough.”
Scratch 2019 KW Ranch Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands – Edged with dark blueberry, redwood duff, bay, fennel and fir, this wine made by super talented Sabrine Rodems is the heart of darkness, revealing black plum melded with cherry compote. It’s spicy, irreverent and there’s a smack of rosemary in there that makes you dream of lamb, and some wild thyme perhaps, that brings to mind grilled eggplant and peppers.
Rustique 2021 Chardonnay Estate Silacci Vineyard – The fact that Chad Silacci was even pouring this wine was a gift. His Dad kept reminding us that he’s almost out of wine. If you fancy a warm double-crusted peach pie with crème fraiche, grab a bottle of this. The library wines are really intriguing, so make sure to stop by the tasting room and check them out.
Talbott 2022 Rosé of Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, SLH – The standout wine on the Talbott table, it is sveltly pretty to admire with is field of strawberries aromas, with orchard fruit undertones. Makes your mouth water with the bit of lemon curd that slaloms down the middle of your palate.
Windy Oaks 2019 Chambertin Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains – Even more impressive than the 2018 version of this wine, the 2019 Chambertin (so named for a clone sourced from France), is pure raspberry and white cherry silkiness, unimaginably light on the tongue but completely capable of enveloping it in a dancing flood of acid and diaphanous spice. It ever so delicately reminds you that for Burgundy aficionados like Jim and Judy Schultze, this style of Pinot Noir is the Holy Grail of wine.
We’d be remiss not to mention the engaging raptor guests who graced the event, especially Ziggy the Eurasian Eagle Owl, who exhibited immense composure in the face of all the excitement, including the prodigious presence of dogs. As Ziggy swiveled his head to keep his eyes on them, his handler from Green Fields Falconry, said, “Ziggy is not fond.”
Ziggy’s favorite food is mice: tasty little morsels. These birds do an amazing job of deterring flocks of birds from making a mess of ripening grapes after veraison. If you’ve never seen a falcon or hawk going after a flock of starlings at harvest, that’s some unscripted reality you can’t experience on TV. Nature is a beautifully interwoven thing.
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.
