THE STORY
The Monterey Chapter of the American Wine Society #aws #americanwinesociety once again had the chance to celebrate an early Valentines Day at the Twisted Roots Tasting Room in Carmel Valley! They allowed us to use their beautiful club space for our members to bring appetizers to share. The wines were delicious. The surprise wine education component was comparing and contrasting a filtered and unfiltered wine – the same wine, the same vintage. Eye opening, to say the least! Many thanks to Josh, Julie, Jon and the rest of the staff who helped us that evening!
I’ve written about Twisted Roots Winery and their wines several times, with our previous AWS visit presented here: Valentine’s Celebration at Twisted Roots! You can read about their history in that post.
You can join the Monterey Chapter of the American Wine Society by becoming a member of the National American Wine Society and choosing Monterey as your local chapter.
THE EVENT
At this month’s tasting, we started with a new California bubbly, segued to a Lodi Albariño from one of the oldest vineyards in California. Before moving into the Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, which they are mostly known for, Josh took us on a wine education journey. In detail, he explained that he was presenting us with two versions of his 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon. He tends to make his Cabernet Sauvignon in a lighter style. For this vintage, he held back some of the juice (wine) from the filtering process and bottle it separately. We got to taste the difference from the bigger, fruitier unfiltered wine and the lighter, more sophisticated style of the filtered wine. I’m sure we put a dent in his last case of the unfiltered wine, so make a beeline there if you still want to grab a bottle!
THE WINES
Today I am presenting 6 wines, including the unfiltered version of the Cabernet Sauvignon. As usual, winery notes come from the tasting sheet, the winery website, or tasting room staff. Any errors are mine or mine alone. As a rule, I do not correct typos from winery websites.
NV Twisted Roots California Brut, Monterey County, 12.5% ABV, $55 (#1516)
Winery Notes: “Our NEW California Brut Sparkling wine has notes of ripe green apple on the nose, followed by bright notes of lemon and citrus on the palate. We produced our new Monterey County, Sparkling Brut using the traditional of methode champenoise, which creates soft and round little bubbles that round the finish off perfectly! While completely dry, our California Brut also has nice hints of almond and brioche which pairs nicely with your favorite cheese platter. Cheers!”
My Review: A very faint nose with scents of apple. Light flavors on the palate beginning with brioche and finishing crisp. Tiny bubbles throughout. This was a favorite wine of the tasting. February 2025
2022 Twisted Roots Albariño, Bokish Vineyards – Terra Alta, Lodi AVA, $50 (#1517)
Winery Notes: “Our Albarino is a light, crisp, and fruity white wine. Perfect for a hot summer day by the pool, the BBQ, or just hanging out in the shade. This wine brings lots of tropical type fruit like mangos and pineapples, and lots of citrus type acid on the finish. Ice cold out of the cold box, its really refreshing!”
My Review: This Albariño begins with scents of wet hay, like after a spring rain, and ends with grilled pineapple. Lots of minerality mid palate with a pronounced acidic, grapefruit finish. February 2025
2018 Twisted Roots (Filtered) Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi AVA, 14% ABV, $60 (#1518)
Winery Notes: “Unlike those Napa Valley style Cabernet Sauvignon, with a ton of tannins, our Cabernet drinks more like a Pinot Noir, in terms of body and tannins, with all the fruit of a Cabernet Sauvignon. Our 2018 vintage present a soft sublte body, with dry cherry, and coco flavors on the palate. Great with a meal, or on its own!”
My Review: Light bodied with more tannin and cassis on the finish. The filtered version is lighter, yet still quite flavorful – a more sophisticated presentation than its unfiltered brother. February 2025
2018 Twisted Roots Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi AVA, 14% ABV, $60 (#1519)
Winery Notes: Josh described how this wine was made – by reserving some of the wine before filtering. It is the exact same wine and juice as the regular 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, but without the filtering. This leaves you with a more robust, juicy, tasty wine. There is less than a case left – so stop on over soon if you want one!
My Review: Distinctive yummy cherry and plum on the nose. Delicious, with sweet cherry on the rich palate, finishing with raisiny notes. A delicious fruit bomb, in a good way. This was the second favorite wine of the night for our group. February 2025
2018 Twisted Roots Petite Sirah, Lodi AVA, 15.5% ABV, $60 (#1520)
Winery Notes: “Our winemakers passion, the first wine he ever made, the one that he drinks the most. Our Petite Sirah is big, and bold, but not harsh, which makes it enjoyable. It presents lots of dark fruit, blackberry, and raspberry, both on the nose and on the finish, followed by a little black pepper as well.”
My Review: Purple in the glass. A subtle nose of grape sweet tart, oregano and raisins. The fruitiness in the rich palate is offset by a little tobacco on the finish. I liked this wine. February 2025
2018 Twisted Roots “1918” Old Vine Zinfandel, Dairy Vineyard, Lodi AVA, 14% ABV, $60 (#1521)
Winery Notes: “make sure right vintage These are the grapes that started it all for Twisted Roots… Originally planted on the “Dairy” Vineyard in 1918! Three generations of our family have cared for these vines, and they are still producing to this day. This wine presents itself as big and fruity on the nose, but on the pallet it has gentle fruit and smooth tannins. We aged this wine in 100% neutral French oak barrels to showcase the depth of flavor these old vines produce.”
My Review: Ripe plum on the nose. Prune and bitter tannins with a white pepper finish. The terroir of the old vines shines through. February 2025
THE TASTING ROOM
Visit The Twisted Roots Tasting Room: “Wine is an experience meant to be shared with others. Stop by our beautiful tasting room and let’s share it together.” Located at 12 Del Fino Pl, Carmel Valley, CA 93924. Open 12-5pm, Thursday-Sunday. Reserve online or at 831- 594-8282. You can also buy their wines on their website!
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