Back in May, I received a call from Phil Arnold, the Vice Chair of the Monterey Chapter of the American Wine Society. He expressed I could be helpful to their WinedUP Friday wine tasting events because I know so much about our local wineries. The first one I organized was at Parsonage, which I wrote about here: . The next one was at Corral, which I negotiated for 1 September, the Friday of Labor Day Weekend! I previously wrote about Corral here: https://decantingmonterey.com/come-say-hello-at-corral-wines-new-tasting-room/.
From the Corral Wine Co website: “Corral Wine Company is a production of Bell Family Vineyards. In 2017, in a barn in Corral de Tierra, California, we barreled our first batch of estate Pinot Noir. We’re still in that same barn, but we’ve made even more varietals from some of the best grapes on the Central Coast. We’re a family-owned operations – we’re not fancy, but we make good wine.”
Corral Wine Tasting Room, which only opened in January 2022, has a very cool and relaxing vibe. Jessica Gatton, their awesome tasting room manager, and I were expecting quite a crowd and I wanted the members to be able to taste all the wines. We weren’t really sure how it would go, as people arrived at different times, so no one was on the same wine at the same time. And it was Jessica’s birthday – she had plans immediately after the event. On the verge of chaos, Corral reinforcements arrived, including their co-owners Skip and Dani Wilcox and co-owner/winemaker, Adrien Valenzuela. The Corral staff all chipped in to pour the wines and the AWS group was very happy. The wine was greatly enjoyed and many purchases wrapped up the evening. Thank you, Jessica, Adrien, Skip, and Dani, for all your hard work, making this an exceptional event!
As soon as Jacqueline Van Nes, Chair of the Monterey Chapter of the AWS, realized we had the winemaker in the house, she inquired if he would speak to us. Adrien readily agreed! We were thrilled that he was willing to address our group – an unplanned and very welcomed action.
Adrien shared with us his wine background and training. A local from Salinas, he said he had left the area and had not planned to come back. He is written up as one of four up-and-coming winemakers in this September 5, 2019 Monterey Weekly article: Four young Monterey County winemakers talk about launching new labels in a time of uncertainty. Here is a quote from the article: “The career paths taken by Monterey County’s winemakers are not always predictable. Adrien Valenzuela studied biology and expected a career in nursing to follow – that is, until he did an internship at Estancia. He is now a winemaker for Constellation Brands in Gonzales, which owns almost 30 different labels, including Estancia and Robert Mondavi.” And now with Corral Wine Co.
He also shared the Corral story and trajectory. Their first vintage was in 2018, with a mere 500 cases, with fruit sourced from Monterey, Paso Robles, and Gilroy. This past year, that number reached 1400 cases and now they are expecting 2600! Nice! While some of what they produce comes from Bell Ranch in the Carmel Valley, they have been fortunate to obtain fruit from some notable Monterey County vineyards (Zabala in Arroyo Seco, KW Ranch in the Santa Lucia Highlands, and Massa in Carmel Valley). And they are expanding their acquisition of fruit from specific areas of Paso Robles, as well as from the Enz Vineyard in San Benito County.
Phil Arnold got up to say a few words about the Monterey Chapter of AWS, a young chapter that started in January 2020, right before the pandemic. It is a great group of people interested in learning more about wine. In addition to the first Friday WinedUP events, they host an annual BBQ, wine judging and other events. If you are interested, you can join them by becoming a member of the national AWS here: https://americanwinesociety.org/. The AWS is “America’s largest community of wine explorers”! Then you can join the Monterey Chapter. Membership is quite affordable and they are a non-pretentious and friendly social group.
Today, I am presenting 8 Corral wines from the AWS tasting event, 2 of which have been presented here before, with expanded tasting notes. Winery notes come from their tasting sheet or their website. Any errors are mine and mine alone. You can read more details about some of these wines on their webpage here.
2019 Corral Zabala Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Arroyo Seco AVA, $28 (#604)
Winery Notes: “Bright, vibrant aromas of tropical fruit, such as guava and grapefruit dominate along with some fresh cut hay, lemon blossom, wet stone and racing acidity.”
My Review: Very light, pretty in the glass. Grapefruit, guava and grilled pineapple on the nose. Yummy palate of lychee, mango, papaya, sweet grapefruit and hay, with some minerality on the finish. Love Zabala VIneyard and find this to be a very attractive and sophisticated wine. I’d like to feature this wine in a future class! March/September 2022
2020 Corral Estate Rose of Pinot Noir, Monterey AVA, $26 (#605)
Winery Notes: “Bright and fresh aromas of strawberry and orange blossom, with nice, bright acidity.”
My Review: Dusty rose (“ballet slipper pink”) in color. Sweet bouquet of white peach, with a light palate of white peach and honey and a touch of smoke on the finish. This is a 2020 rose (fire year), afterall. A classic pool wine. Only red wine they made from 2020. March/September 2022
2021 Corral “Pancho’s Chard” Chardonnay, Carmel Valley, Monterey County, 13.1% ABV, $36 (#839)
Winery Notes: “Crisp & refreshing acidity, with aromas of citrus and honeysuckle.”
My Review: Light in color, with the scent of “Melon de Bourgogne” and lemon on the nose. A bit of a wine spritzer look and taste in the glass. Fairly lemony palate – “like a lemon bar! This is such a new release that they don’t even have the labels yet! September 2022
2019 Corral Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, $52 (#840)
Winery Notes: “Composed of two different clones from two vineyards in the heart of The Santa Lucia Highlands, this Pinot Noir shows off a lighter body, bright, red fruit and earthiness.” From the Highlands Ranch & KW Ranch Vineyards.
My Review: Transparent dark ruby in the glass. Perfume on the nose. Palate laden with alcohol. This wine seems young and not ready for release – might need to open up more or settle down. September 2022
2019 Corral KW Ranch Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, $58 (#841)
Winery Notes: “Rich flavors of cherry, plum, and nutmeg. Elegant and lasting finish.”
My Review: Inky ruby in the glass. Smells like dark fruit, almost raisiny. Very bold on the palate – big and smooth. I’m not a Pinot Noir lover, but I truly like this wine! As with the 2018, I would not have guessed this was a Pinot Noir if I were doing a blind tasting. This is one of my favorite wines from today’s tasting. We thought we had this wine at home, but it was the previous vintage, so I will have to rectify that! September 2022
2019 Corral Enz Vineyard Old Vines Zinfandel, Lime Kiln Valley AVA, San Benito County, 14.8% ABV, $48 (#842)
Winery Notes: “Light-medium body, old vine Zinfandel. Red fruit and spices.”
My Review: Beautiful dark ruby in the glass. Nose of dark fruits, pepper and violets. Very jammy, mocha (cocoa powder), with some licorice on the finish. I’m a long-time Zinfandel fan and took one home! On a previous visit, Larry Bell played mystery wine with this wine with me – while I suspected Zinfandel, I didn’t think he was making one. And he did – and it is good! September2022
2019 Corral “See What You Can Do” Red Blend, Monterey County, 14.2% ABV, $62 (#843)
Winery Notes: “50/50 Cabernet & Syrah blend with notes of cranberry, pine needles, and all spice.” 50% Cabernet from Massa Estate, Cachagua (Carmel Valley AVA); 50% Syrah from Zabala Vineyard (Arroyo Seco AVA) 75 cases produced.
My Review: Inky in the glass. Mocha, plum, dark berries and vanilla on the nose. Palate of sharp berries and spearmint with vanilla and anise on the finish. This wine is very young for all this big fruit from some of the best vineyards in our area. Recommend cellaring for a year or more – if you can resist! One of our favorite Corral wines. September 2022
22019 Corral Petite Sirah, Paso Robles, 14.5% ABV, $52 (#844)
Winery Notes: “Ripe black fruit: blackberries, blueberries tobacco, black pepper, and toasted baking spices. Rich in flavor, full bodied with a long finish.”
My Review: Beautiful dark ruby in the glass. Smoke and alcohol on the nose – not a ton of fruit. Palate is smooth and rich with dark berry flavors and yummy. This is my favorite, current Corral wine – we keep buying more because we keep opening it at home! September 2022
We’d love to pour for you at our Tasting Room in Carmel Valley Village: 19 East Carmel Valley Rd. Suite C, Carmel Valley, CA! Hours are Sunday, Monday and Thursday: 12:00 – 5:00 pm; Friday and Saturday: 12:00 – 6:00ish pm; and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. They have two tastings: The Cellar Rats (referring to Larry and Skip) ($20 for 4 wines) and The Maker (referring to their winemaker, Adrien) ($25 for 6 wines).
© Decanting Monterey 2023
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