My early September wine class wanted to do a bubbly. I did a quick search on line for a Monterey sparkling wine. As soon as I saw Scratch on the list, I had to have it – I wanted to present this wine! I ran over to their tasting room in Carmel-By-The-Sea and picked up a bottle. I have been curious about Scratch, a woman-owned winery by Sabrine Rodems, the winemaker for Wrath since 2006, another favorite. What’s not to like?
According to the Scratch Website, “Scratch is a project of Winemaker Sabrine Rodems producing small-lot Riesling, Grenache, Pinot Noir and Cabernet from Monterey, Arroyo Seco, Santa Lucia Highlands and Santa Cruz Mountains AVA’s.” Sabrine Rodems says: “What I love most about Monterey, the Arroyo Seco, Santa Lucia Highland and the Santa Cruz Mountains is that I have four geologically different sites at my fingertips. Getting to work with bench Pinot Noir and river bed Riesling and Grenach, and Coastal Cabernet makes my work exciting and the wine exciting as well. Winemaking is the best of both worlds the amalgamation of science and art.”
I wanted to learn more about Sabrine Rodems and quickly saw there are many articles about this locally reknown winemaker. One of my favorites is this one in Edible Monterey Sabrine Rodems On Exhibit Scratch Coming to Carmel in which she talks about experimenting with Falanghina in clay in the ancient Roman method for Wrath. She also states her favorite wine growing region is Monterey, due to its long growing season (no pressure!) and coastal climate. And explains why she likes the name Scratch (no one else had it, edgy, and hard to pin down).
2018 Scratch Blanc de Blanc Sparkling, San Saba Vineyard, Monterey AVA, 12.2% ABV, $45 (#136*):
From the Scratch Website : “The excitment has been killing us!!! Our new baby, Sparkling Blanc de Blanc made from Chardonnay off of San Saba Vineyards, which is the home vineyard of Wrath Wines. High acid Clone 17 Chardonnay in an Extra Brut style. Crisp citrus, flowers and a hint of guava with a clean finish and amazing bubbles!” 100% Chardonnay, Methode Champenoise, Extra Brut
Wine Enthusiast Review of the 2017 Vintage: “This wine features a label design by artist Eddie Colla. It shows strong aromas of pear, pineapple and tropical fruit on the nose. The palate displays flavors of lime, lemongrass and green apple, enveloped in an aggressive mousse.” 91 points. Matt Kettmann, April 2019
My Review: Pale golden in color, we detected pear notes on the nose, clean and crisp pear on the palate, finishing with lemongrass and lime. I like a good Brut bubbly, so Extra Brut made it even more special. My fellow classmates did ask, “What does an aggressive mousse taste like?” I’ll have to ask Matt. September 2020
Check out their current releases on their website. Also, you can visit their outdoor tasting room 7 days a week at in the middle of the block of Dolores between Ocean and 7th in Carmel-By-The-Sea – now that is bold!
*Refers to wines tasted while Sheltering in Place on Sharon’s personal Facebook group “Sharon’s Central Coast (Monterey) Wine Blog” – including non-Central Coast wines.
© Decanting Monterey 2020
Recent Comments