I last brought you a Bunter Spring wine in October here: https://decantingmonterey.com/bunter-spring-there-is-no-excuse-for-bad-wine/. Check there for more about the winery and how we discovered it.
Mark provided his readers a very blunt assessment of 2020 here. But he also added this: “Any good news we have is NOT from 2020. There are some promising 2019s coming up. The sauv blanc and orange wine from Santa Cruz are daring- we harvested earlier than ever before, to get high natural acidity for drinking with shellfish and shrimp. The sauv blanc is a ringer for Sancerre. Our ’19 estate Syrah is perfectly balanced and intensely varietal, again leaning toward a European version of the grape. It will spend another year or so in barrel. Carmel Valley Palisades 2019 pinot noir will be bottled this spring. It reminds me of our 2013 Sonoma Coast pinot. We made some excellent Monterey reds in 2018: a pinot noir from Carmel valley, another from Santa Lucia Highlands, and some zin, cab sauv, and cab franc from a “sleeper” vineyard hidden in the hills high above Arroyo Seco. These follow distinctive 17 cab sauv and cab franc from a fifty year-old organic vineyard in Carmel Valley. We have plenty of good wine for the short term. We will need to make some whites in ’21 to go with our estate Syrah, and whatever other red grapes we buy.”
Bunter Spring 2017 Spring Cabernet Franc, Carmel Valley AVA, 14.34% ABV, $30 (#225*) 86% Cabernet Franc, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48 cases produced
Winemaker’s Notes : “This wine is from a historic organic vineyard in the hills high above the Carmel River. The AVA gives a distinct and recognizable character to its fruit, something midway between Napa and Paso Robles – which is exactly where it is!…” From the back label: “Aged 20 months in French and American oak barrels, 50% new. This wine smells like something from the Mother Country: lilac, violets, saddle soap, bay spice, cassis. It tastes like California sunshine: ripe black cherry and red raspberry, heady with alcohol. Dense with fine tannins. It has a long, warm aftertaste of sour cherry candy…Not Fined. Not Filtered.”
My Review: Very inky, almost purple in color. Fresh blueberry and plum on the nose. Very rich intense dark berry and cassis on the palate, a little chalky. Opens into deep cherry and dark berry lingering flavors. I prefer this vintage to the 2016. October 2020
According to their website, “Our Carmel Valley tasting room remains closed to the public. We have created an outdoor tasting area and soon should have that operating, pending licensing…” On the flip side, he is offering the public 25% off, 35% off 12 bottle case purchases and a very generous discount to club members. To buy their wines, check out their current releases and contact Mark by phone or email to order. Directions are here. They ship within California and to Washington DC and Florida.
*Refers to wines tasted while Sheltering in Place on Sharon’s personal Facebook group “Sharon’s Central Coast (Monterey) Wine Blog” – includes non-Central Coast wines.
© Decanting Monterey 2021
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