Rounding Up Corral Wines

January 14, 2022 – A day after their official opening in Carmel Valley Village, I dropped into the warmly lit Corral Ranch tasting room, and found Pam Bell working on Christmas cards on January 7. Hey, I sent a lot of New Year’s (ok, late Christmas cards) myself: a lot of people did this year. We’re all in denial about the fact we lost another year to the craziness of the pandemic, but we’re all still on the very same calendar page, regardless. 

Pam was seated at one of the tables near the built in bench seating area, where folks can relax on the custom seat cushions (due to arrive any day now.) There’s a tasting bar where you can stand, if you prefer, and let the ever so informative and lovely Jess walk you through the flight, or pour you what you prefer. 

While she’s only been working as the Tasting Room manager for over a month, she already knows a good deal about the wines, all made by winemaker Adrien Valenzuela. She’s known owners Pam and Larry Bell for years, having worked with them for their trade show company. She totally understands the concept of customer service. 

You can also choose to sit as I did, in the comfy circle of boucle chairs, clustered around a low center table and enjoy your tasting flight, with each wine served in the appropriate Riedel glass. “It really makes a difference to have the right glassware,” says Larry. “I was a total skeptic until I did the Riedel tasting and after that, I totally was a convert.” What if you’re super busy and have a big group, I wondered. “We’ll just let the glasses stack up and do the dishes later! I’d rather have people appreciate the wines.”

If you’ve never been to either the Rexford or original Holman Ranch tasting room that formerly occupied this spot, you won’t appreciate the transformation that has occurred. Suffice it to say, you will just notice how invitingly clean and bright the place feels, from the jute rug to the paper chandelier. Gone is the western feel of the original, with only the tile floor remaining. Everything else is completely new and fresh. Pam found a huge mirror at a shop in Carmel that takes up an entire wall and there is a good deal of natural light so you can really appreciate the wines.

First up was the pale Provence-looking 2020 Rose of Pinot Noir ($26) from the Bell Vineyard in Corral de Tierra, which Larry says was picked at 22 Brix and clocks in at 13.2%. It’s far from sweet, with aromas of strawberry and orange peel and flavors of pumpkin, raspberry and baking spice. 

Next came the 2019 Sauvignon Blanc from the Zabala Vineyard in Arroyo Seco ($28), which instantly impresses with its bodacious aromas of gooseberry, lemongrass and grapefruit. The flavors hitchhike in a tropical direction, picking up lime, guava and a hint of pineapple, sweeping them up in a caravan of smooth, almost lush texture, that oozes the wet stone minerality of the site. There is just nothing like Arroyo Seco Sauvignon Blanc: rich, textural, tropical, and yet never cloying or sweet. Larry says the 2020 will be released soon. 

Then it was the 2018 Chardonnay from the Zabala Vineyard ($34), done in 100% new French oak for 18 months, with full malolactic, and lees stirring, giving it that super creamy, almost unctuous, bordering on butter texture. Flavors of coconut, warn vanilla and grilled pineapple dominate. 

Switching to Burgundy stems now, we enjoyed the 2018 Estate Pinot Noir ($42), which is 25% whole cluster, and 75% clone 777 and 25% clone 115. Twenty months in barrel have imparted plenty of sweet vanilla to the wine, which displays nice aromas of strawberry and cherry, exhibiting super nice depth and flavors of cherry tobacco and clove. 

The 2018 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir ($48), which comes from KW Ranch and Pava Real (now Canyon Springs), is clone 115 and 667, and gets some serious depth from the Tonnellerie O barrels. There’s significant black olive, leather and salami in this impressive wine that registers 14.2%.  

The big brother of this wine is the 2018 KW Ranch vineyard designate Pinot Noir ($55), dark and deep, redolent of bay leaf, clove, Bing cherry and blackberry jam from clones 777 and 667, and amped up by an underlying earthiness from Pommard 4. This seriously bold, yet well-mannered wine sees 30% new French oak, and exhibits a long and elegant finish that smacks of baking spice. 

We finished with the 2018 Petite Surah from Paso Robles, a super gorgeous example of this grape when grown in a warm climate, but picked right, to preserve its chocolate covered blueberry core. Heady with ripe cocoa dusted blackberries and wrapped in the luxurious aromas of a properly stocked humidor, this wine is like drinking a velvet couch. It’s done in 100% new American oak, about 50% new, imparting even more vanilla and spice. 

This was hands down the absolute favorite of CVV resident, Dick Kernelsen, a long time neighbor and friend of Pam and Larry’s. He dropped in just as we started tasting and we instantly began sharing the kind of stories that only wine seems to bring out. He’s from Mennonite stock, and his mother grew up in Nebraska. Larry himself teased us with a bit of history: he’s got Texas law enforcement in his background. More on that another time, pardner. 

Meanwhile, round up your friends and meet them at the A-OK Corral Wine Company tasting room, where you can spin some tales of your own.