On a lazy Saturday, I get a call from Sal Rombi asking if we’d like to come out for a tasting – like RIGHT THEN! A quick text to our COVID Wine Squad and we were all in – lucky that our adult daughters could join us on this mission. It was SO GOOD to see Sal, after what seemed like a very long time. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together, as well as the outstanding wines. Yes, these are wines tasted in 2020 that slipped through the wine blog cracks – plus a recent tasting of his 2014 Merlot!
Sal, always a welcoming host – photo taken July 2020! 
A treat to taste his big, elegant wines!
I’ve presented Rombi Wines to you twice before: Rombi: Bold, Distinctive Fruit Wrapped in Elegance and Decant Those Rombi Wines: Release Your Full Cachaguan Experience! Please take a look there for more details about Sal and his wines.
In today’s post I will review the 2014 and 2017 Rombi Merlots, and the 2014 Rombi Petite Sirah. We also tasted 2 wines I’ve reviewed before – updated reviews from our recent tasting are here:
- 2015 Rombi Cabernet Sauvignon (one of my favorites): Garnet in color. Deep plum sage and wood scent on the nose. Puckery rich intense blackberry & dried currant on the palate. December 2020
- 2016 Rombi Merlot (Soberanes fire year): Garnet in color. Sweet ham hock on the nose. Rich underlying fruit, and a smokey finish. If it hadn’t been for the smoke taint, this would have been his best Merlot yet. Hats off to vintners gutsy enough to still make these wines – appreciate them for what they are! December 2020
2014 Rombi Merlot, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County, 14.1% ABV, $65 (258*)**
This was his 8th year of production. His fruit from this vineyard is so flavorful, creating wines with up-front intense flavors. Rombi’s wines are very big and complex – highly recommend decanting to get the full fruit flavors. (I’ve said this before…) Sal described this wine as “wonderful” – so wonderful he only has a few bottles left in his personal stash! I still have at least one more – lucky me.
My Review: Garnet/purple in color. Rich bramble berry and cassis on the nose. Huge palate of blueberry, blackberry and a touch of acidity, with at first a very dry finish. As it opened up, lush fruit enveloped the palate with a licorice finish. Very big, very complex, very nice wine. January 2021
2017 Rombi Merlot, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County, 14.1% ABV, $65 (259*)
My Review: Rombi’s 11th vintage of Merlot! Pretty, ruby color with some earth on the nose. This wine might have just been opened and not decanted. Awfully young and a bit tannic with cherry flavors. I will need to taste this one again! December 2020
2014 Rombi Petite Sirah, California, 14.6% ABV, $75 (260*)
My Review: Most of these grapes are sourced from Napa. Deep purple-red in the glass. A very different nose with a touch of barnyard. Delicious, chalky, deep plum and cherry on the palate with a leathery finish. December 2020
You can learn more about and purchase his wines online at Rombi Wines. You can also contact Kathy and Sal at kathy@rombiwines.com or sal@rombiwines.com for more information about buying wine. The tasting room is open Saturday and Sunday afternoons for an outdoor tasting. Come on out and spend some time with Sal.
*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.
**I have a standing offer from Sal Rombi to replenish my cellar with any of his wines I review.
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