THE STORY
I was hunting around for a place to hold the May Monterey Chapter of the American Wine Society (AWS) First Friday meeting and contacted Jeff Meacham of De Tierra Vineyards. I received an immediate YES from him, making it one of the easiest places we have booked to date!
Our growing AWS group enjoyed the wines, an in-depth educational presentation by Jeff, great service by the staff and their lovely space. An extra bonus is you can order charcuterie or focaccia to accompany your tasting! My “dinner” there was delicious!
If your Monterey area winery has the capacity and interest to host us (up to 35 people) for one of our educational events, please let me know!
My last post about De Tierra Vineyards was here: De Tierra: “…the best representation ‘of the land’”.
ABOUT DE TIERRA:
From their website: “De Tierra creates delicious, award-winning, and sustainably harvested wines to share from the unique terroir of Monterey County. De Tierra, as our name suggests, focuses on providing the best representation ‘of the land’. Great wines begin in the vineyard, and it is our goal to translate the defining flavors of place into great wine!”
Jeff Meacham, who purchased the vineyard 2.5 years ago, educated us about the vineyard’s history – here are some of my notes: 25 years ago, Tom Russell was passionate about wine. He was seeking a property that had been organically farmed and would be Sustainable in Practice (SIP). He found it in Corral de Tierra, where there had been no overspray of pesticides. The first planting was their Merlot and it was the only commercial vineyard in Corral. (Jeff took a moment to inform us why it is important to make organic wines – that one of the reasons some wine isn’t good for you is the pesticides.)
Today they have 49 acres planted to 5 varietals. Last year, they acquired Hilltop Ranch Vineyards, as well (which used to be Cima Colina) which added Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris to their varietals. They are shifting their focus to estate wines and they wanted sole access.
THE WINES
Today I’m bringing you 5 wines from De Tierra Vineyards. Winery notes come from their website, newsletters or tasting room. Any errors are mine and mine alone. As a rule, I do not correct typos from the wineries’ websites.
2023 De Tierra Chardonnay, Russell Estate, Monterey AVA, Monterey County, 13.3% ABV, $49 (#1555)
Winery Notes: “Lively color of pale gold and glimmers of green. On the nose you’ll pickup honeydew melon, pear, apricot, yellow apple and honeysuckle…Notes of Asian pear, star fruit and pineapple. Strikes a delicious profile between minerality and robust fruit character. Beautifully well balanced acid and a smooth finish.” 100%. Lighter brighter. They also have a Monterey chard with 25% new oak.
My Review: Pale in the glass. Lime twist on the nose. A lot of minerality on the palate. Tasty. May 2025
2024 De Tierra Rose, Hilltop Ranch, Monterey AVA, Monterey County, 14.6% ABV, $44 (#1556)
Winery Notes: “Pale ruby in color with notes of cranberry, pomegranate and strawberry…Black cherry and plum with a hint of mushroom. Velvet in texture with notes of blueberry and dark chocolate.”
My Review: Pale red in the glass. Heavy Pinot Noir flavors on the palate – lots of skin contact it seems to me (later confirmed by the winery). A rather big palate for a rose. May 2025
2022 De Tierra Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, Monterey County, 14% ABV, $64 (#1557)
Winery Notes: “Pale ruby in color with notes of cranberry, pomegranate and strawberry…Black cherry and plum with a hint of mushroom. Velvet in texture with notes of blueberry and dark chocolate.”
My Review: Very tasty. Cherry and raspberry flavors dance on the palate, balancing out the tannins. There is something so enjoyable about this wine. May 2025
2020 De Tierra Puzzler Red Blend, Monterey AVA, Monterey County, 14% ABV, $54 (#1558)
Winery Notes: “Garnet in color. Nose offers notes of rich earth, plum, fresh fig, black licorice and a hint of spice…Plush tannins balance this very complex full bodied wine. This wine starts with notes of plum and blackberry, then leads to black tea with a long tobacco finish.”
My Review: Very dark in the glass. Notes of blackberry and plum on the nose. Merlot dominates on the palate – a very soft and drinkable red blend – always a favorite selection of mine from De Tierra. May 2025
2020 De Tierra Petite Sirah, Pedregal de Paicines, Central Coast AVA, 14% ABV, $69 (#1559)
Winery Notes: “Extraordinary deep purple color, with notes of fresh blackberry, black tea, black pepper, pomegranate…Full-bodied flavors of blackberry, blueberry, chocolate, plums and black pepper, mocha, dense tannins. Our limited release Petite Sirah recently won GOLD and earned a 96 points rating at the California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition 2023.”
My Review: Dark plum, cassis, blackberry, blueberry and anise. This is a very smooth, full-bodied wine. I took some home! May 2025
THE TASTING ROOM
“De Tierra provides a one of a kind tasting room experience in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Just 1½ blocks off Ocean Ave., our tasting room is located in a cozy cottage that opens up to the sights and sounds of downtown. Come visit us and experience our extensive wine portfolio which features many single varietal wines, unique blends, sparkling and dessert wines. Make it a perfect match with our available locally sourced small bites.
“The Tasting Room at De Tierra Vineyards is open to the public Mon-Thr: 1pm-6pm and Fri-Sun: 1pm -7pm. Reservations are not needed, but are encouraged.” Click here for more information and to make a reservation.
© Decanting Monterey 2025
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