THE STORY
As soon as we got word that the I Brand & Family’s summer releases were available for pickup, we assembled most of the Decanting Monterey Wine Pod and head to sunshine in the valley. We were on a mission to taste these wines and make our selections. We were thrilled that Angie was managing the tasting room that day. She encouraged us to compare and contrast varietals from different AVAs side by side. What fun!
SOME FACTS AND FIGURES
Interesting note: According to the I Brand & Family website, the 2023 Summer Release wines are only available to wine club members for the time being! There are a couple of factors at play, both addressed in Ian’s Summer 2023 Winemaker Letter:
1. Climate Change: The small yields of 2020-2022 due to wildfires, storms and hot weather significantly reduced the production for many of our local vintners. According to the latest County of Monterey Crop & Livestock Report, there was a 20% reduction in the value of grapes harvested in 2022, dropping them from 5th place to 7th in crop value in Monterey County. This was due primarily to the end-of-summer heat wave. Fingers crossed for a better 2023…so far, so good…lots of rain, just bring on more warm, sunny days!
2. Demand for Monterey Grapes: As Monterey grapes and winegrowing areas are exposed through the creativity of our local vintners, more and more of the best fruit gets bought up by others. While non-Monterey vintners have historically purchased roughly 50% of our grapes (see Monterey County Vintners & Growers Association Fast Facts), the demand goes up as specific vineyards and varietals get put on the map through the fine work of our local vintners who produce such good quality, good value wines.
THE WINES
Before I get into the new releases, let’s pause for a moment to explore those fun side-by-side tastings accompanied by my notes:
SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISONS
We tasted the Cabernet Francs and then the Cabernet Sauvignons side-by-side for some AVA and winemaking style comparisons. Most of these were previously presented in this blog.
Cabernet Francs:
2020 I Brand & Family Cabernet Franc, Bayly Ranch, Paicines AVA, San Benito County, 11.9% ABV, $30 (#900): Garnet in color. Rose petal on the nose. Lean palate of dark fruit – a bit more like a Pinot Noir. This wine was made in a leaner Chinon style. It was earthier, with a touch of smoke, Kalamata olive.
2020 I Brand & Family Cabernet Franc, Bates Ranch, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, Santa Cruz County, 12.8% ABV, $48 (#901): Deep ruby in color. Very nice palate of dark fruit – seems to be made in a richer, Bordeaux style. Or is it just the fruit? Fruitier, fresher, juicier.
Cabernet Sauvignons:
This was a fun side-by-side, as it was the battle of the higher end Cabs with a more moderately priced version, each from a different vineyard. When we did the side-by-side, I had assumed we had tasted and presented all the wines previously, which evidently is not the case for the one from the Massa vineyard!
2019 I Brand & Family Cabernet Sauvignon, Fellom Ranch, Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Cruz County, 13.7% ABV, $75 (#751): Caramel on the nose, followed by a lean palate. More Napa-like in overall composition.
2019 I Brand & Family Cabernet Sauvignon, Massa Vineyard Block 10, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County, 13.5% ABV, $75 (#1064): Intense dark fruit and dust on the nose. A rich, juicy palate with a nice finish. This wine is a tad more my style.
2020 I Brand & Family Bates Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Cruz County, 13.8% ABV, $48 (#904): Dark ruby in the glass. It has a juicy, rich, dark berry and cassis nose – yummy – following through on the mellow palate, with a touch of acidity on this finish. This old vines Cabernet is very well priced. Ian is giving all the value to his fans on this good wine. We took some home.
TODAY’S WINES
I have 9 wines to present to you today from 3 labels: I Brand & Family, La Marea and Paysan – tasted at their tasting room on June 30th. Winery notes come from their Summer 2023 Winemaker Letter. I used the full notes, as this blog is about wine education and I find them so interesting! Any errors are mine and mine alone.
2022 I Brand & Family Arneis, Vista Verde Vineyard, San Benito AVA, San Benito County, 13.8% ABV, $30 (#1056)
Winemaker’s Notes: “This is our third vintage of Arneis from Vista Verde. We originally tried this block out because we were looking for anything white after the fires of 2020 in case the smoke taint was worse than we thought. It turns out that the Vista Verde hillside does a damn good version of this rare and resurging Piedmontese variety with textbook apricot, honey and raw almond flavors. Our wine making remains largely unchanged over the last three years: Nail the pick, press whole cluster, settle, ferment and age in the same barrels and let it rest on lees until we are ready to bottle. Every time I open a bottle, I’m happy I did.”
My Review: Pale golden in color. Sweet grapefruit and apple on the nose. Tasty palate with round flavors, crisp yet some honey notes, and a long finish. We liked this wine. June 2023
2022 I Brand & Family Pinot Gris, Eden Rift Vineyard, San Benito AVA, San Benito County, 13% ABV, $30 (#1057)
Winemaker’s Notes: “We continue to put about 5 days of skin contact on our Eden Rift Pinot Gris, flirting with a ramato (copper) style, but not driving into the esoteria that can characterize ramato Pinot Gris in Friuli. Now in our 5th year of working with the Eden Rift site, we’re really dialing in our pick times to capture maximum complexity and depth in the wine. It can take time in bottle or in the decanter for this to reach its apex of enjoyability, but we think it’s worth it. When our Pinot Gris is at its peak, it’s a super compelling wine, unique in its marriage of lightness on the palate and grip on the finish.”
My Review: Salmon in the glass. Very delicious palate with a lingering finish of caramel and lingering fruit skins. We liked this wine, as well! Year over year – a favorite. June 2023
2022 Paysan Chardonnay, Jacks’ Hill, Monterey AVA, Monterey County, 13.4% ABV, $22 (#1058)
Winemaker’s Notes: “We are suddenly short on Paysan Chardonnay. After years of swimming upstream stylistically, we’ve had a coincidental convergence of factors that have open the floodgates on this wine; not the least of which is a majority leap in quality. The 2022 vintage was small, berried and intense with tremendous acidity. This wine is fantastic and I’m ashamed that we need to put it on allocation. Like with our Albariño this year, we will be in touch once we move through the initial release with any available bottles remaining.”
My Review: Straw in the glass. Slight buttery notes on the nose. A light and clean palate with a slight tartness – more like a Chablis. Even non-Chardonnay lovers can like this wine. June 2023
2021 I Brand & Family Chardonnay, Escolle Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, Monterey County, 13.7% ABV, $36 (#1059)
Winemaker’s Notes: “When we were still pouring the 2019 Escolle Vineyard Chardonnay in the tasting room I had a friend text me that her friend told her she really liked our oaky Chardonnay. This had resulted in some confusion because she was sure I would never make an oaky Chardonnay. I suppose technically it’s true; this wine sees a lot more oak than I put on any other white wine and bears some of the typical markers of new barrels. But it’s also a play on the adage popularized by Dave Ramey – that he’s never seen a wine that was overoaked, just a barrel that was underwined. Ultimately, I am quality focused and style agnostic. Escolle Chardonnay is dense, flavorful and high acid. We let it spend 11 months in cooperage, including two new puncheons (twice the size of a normal barrique), which is a really long time for a white wine, and then another six months in stainless to ‘marry’. The result is a lively, textured, long-lived Chardonnay worthy of sharing the table with the best wines in the world.”
My Review: Pale in color. Good fruit on the nose. A rich palate with a slight sweetness on the finish. This tends to be one of our top picks and one of the best Escolle Vineyard Chardonnays produced! June 2023
2020 La Marea Old Vines Grenache, Central Coast AVA, 14% ABV, $30 (#1060)
Winemaker’s Notes: “This blend of three ‘old vine’ Grenache vineyards from the Central Coast is a unique wine. There aren’t more than a handful of old vine Grenache vineyards on the Central Coast and we’ve gone about collecting every significant block (and some fairly tiny ones) we can because we believe in the history and future of Grenache in our region. We’ve tried bottling grenache every which way, but this three-vineyard blend is tops for depth and approachability –– it’s like everything you want from a great Pinot Noir at a third of the price. Try it with a slight chill on a warm summer evening with light fare from the grill or stash it in the cellar for a couple of years. Our experience, is our Grenaches really start showing their full potential between years 4 to 8.”
My Review: Translucent ruby in the glass. A noseful of Grenache. Cherry and crushed berries on the palate with some cinnamon on the finish. This is a very good Grenache. June 2023
2021 Paysan Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon, San Benito AVA, San Benito County, 13.2% ABV, $27 (#1061)
Winemaker’s Notes: “We’ve developed quite a reputation for our throwback Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a real rarity – a thoughtful, balanced, approachable Cabernet at a reasonable price. The 2021 vintage is one of my favorites in California – the wines have such prodigious quality and this is no exception. I’m constantly shocked by the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon we bring in and I know that if my mentors like Randall Grahm and John Alban were dead, they’d be rolling over in their graves. Thankfully they’re not and I wish them many happy years. Like all of our Paysan wines, it belongs on your table now and for years to come.”
My Review: Inky in color. Dark berry jam balanced by garrigue/herbal notes. Juicy on the palate. A bargain. Like a Languedoc wine. June 2023
2021 Paysan Petite Sirah, Pierce Ranch Vineyards, San Antonio Valley AVA, Monterey County, 12.9% ABV, $25 (#1062)
Winemaker’s Notes: “We stopped making Petite Sirah in 2017 because our reserved, elegant version of the grape did nothing but confuse people. By 2021, we’d had enough of people asking for it in the tasting room and decided to see if we could get back into Block One on Pierce Ranch. Thankfully, Josh was able to find a couple of tons for us in our favorite Petite Sirah section. Planted on the fractured shale of old sea beds and fermented with 1/3 whole bunch inclusion, this is the perfect wine for barbecue or richer fare demanding darker fruit flavors.”
My Review: Garnet in the glass. Fresh raspberries on the nose. Crushed red berries on the palate with some structure on the finish. June 2023
2022 I Brand & Family Piquette Nat, Zabala Vineyard, Arroyo Seco AVA, Monterey County, $18 (#1063)
Winemaker’s Notes: “I think people are beginning to catch on to the beauty of our Piquette Nat. Similar to a beer in fizziness and alcohol but without the weight or wheatiness, it’s perfect chilled for Summer and pairs excellently with a variety of flavorful foods. Our 2022 version is much heavier on the hibiscus so it’s almost like a sparkling Jamaica agua fresca or showing shades of dry Lambrusco. The perfect match for street tacos. I swear it’s addictive.”
My Review: This vintage is very different previous ones – quite ruby in appearance. Reminded me a bit of a very fine, tasty, bubbly French vinaigrette! June 2023
2019 I Brand & Family Cabernet Sauvignon, Massa Vineyard Block 10, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County, 13.5% ABV, $75 (#1064)
Winemaker’s Notes: “…This is a great coastal mountain Cabernet, classically styled and age worthy; a time piece from the heyday for California Cabernets before vineyards were replanted with restrictive root stocks and new clones. Growing in diverse topography at higher elevations lens towards intense fruit, elegance and balanced tannins. The cool maritime climate helps drop the daily diurnal in the Carmel Valley AVA (aka Cachagua), which through air and time loosens into an incredible and wide expression of true mountain magic. Like all mountain fruit, our Massa Cabernet offers an ardent expression of the varietal with structure, depth and age-ability. Great vintages off the vineyards have aged more than thirty years beautifully. Wild red and black fruit aromas are complimented on the palate thanks to natural acidity captured upon the vines. Dark fruit and graphite transition directly to a palate expression of dark berries and ethereal savory umami. Unbelievable.”
My Review: Quick side by side: Intense dark fruit and dust on the nose. A rich, juicy palate with a nice finish. I prefer this wine. I confess to having a Carmel Valley Big Red palate! We have this wine at home already! June 2023
THE TASTING ROOM
The I Brand & Family Tasting Room is located at 19 Carmel Valley Road in Carmel Valley Village. It is open Thursday – Monday, 11 am – 5 pm. Reservations are recommended – more information here.
© Decanting Monterey 2023
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