ABOUT THE SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS SUN, WIND & WINE FESTIVAL
If you love Monterey Pinot Noirs, you have to attend the Santa Lucia Highlands Sun, Wind & Wine Festival at Mer Soleil winery. Held on May 18th, this Santa Lucia Highlands extravaganza of local and out-of-area wineries making wines from our premier AVA is the place to be. Once again, Decanting Monterey was privileged to receive tickets from the Santa Lucia Highlands Wine Artisans. We are so grateful for this opportunity to see and taste so many wines made with our coveted Santa Lucia Highlands grapes all in a single event. Many thanks for your generosity.
I wrote about this event in 4 posts last year – just search “Sun Wind & Wine” on the Decanting Monterey website and they will all pop up. This year, I plan to cover the event in 2 posts. Todays is a little long, but keep reading!
The Santa Lucia Highlands Wine Artisans said this about this event: “Join the preeminent producers of the Santa Lucia Highlands for an afternoon of delicious wine, gourmet delicacies from the area’s finest restaurants and food producers, an auction that benefits a local charity, live music, and more. Mer Soleil Winery generously opens its doors for the day, allowing fans of the region a peek into the beautiful property that’s not open to the public. More than 35 vintners personally pour 100+ sought-after Santa Lucia Highlands wines paired with bites by chefs from exceptional Monterey Peninsula restaurants and food purveyors.”
The number of wineries present was impressive! Here’s the list from the event website:
Belle Glos | Bernardus Winery | Bruliam Wines | Caraccioli Cellars | Cattleya Wines | Clarice Wine Company | CRU Winery | hope & grace | Integrity Wines | J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines | Joyce Wine Company | Kori Wines | Landmark Vineyards | Luli Wines | McIntyre Vineyards | Mer Soleil | Miner Family Winery | Mooney Family Vineyards | Morgan Winery | Odonata | Pessagno | Pisoni Vineyards | Puma Road Winery | ROAR Wines | Rombauer Vineyards | Rustique Winery | Sarah’s Vineyard | Scheid Family Wines | Siduri |Talbott Vineyards | Testarossa | Three Furies Wines | Tondre Wines | Tudor Wines | Truckee River Winery | Wrath Wines
We kept to the same strategy we used last year with one modification: Enjoy the food and focus on wineries we did not know, share pours, and dump the rest. We tried to stick to that approach, stopping for a bite to eat before we started tasting wine. There were so many delicious food options:
Ardent Culinaire | Carmel’s Hidden Gem | Cheesecake Dreamations | Dollycakes | La Balena Carmel | Lula’s Chocolates | Luigi’s | The Pocket Carmel | Rancho Cielo Drummond Culinary Academy | Schoch Family Farmstead Cheeses | Secret Bakery | Spotted Duck Pacific Grove | Star Market | Toasted Grilled Cheese | Woody’s at the Airport | Yafa Carmel | Zio Brand Meats, and more.
The standouts for us were the lamb meatball from The Spotted Duck, the meatballs and rice from Yafa Carmel, the roast beef from Woody’s, the Monterey Jack from Schoch Dairy and Creamery, the seafood Newburg from Rancho Cielo Drummond Culinary Academy, and the sea salt caramels from Lula’s Chocolates. Yum.
If you like good food – and love Pinot Noir, this Santa Lucia Highlands extravaganza is the event for you!
THE WINES – A SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS EXTRAVAGANZA!
Today I am kicking off this series presenting quite a few wines from this event from the wineries I do not know. But, before I do that, I want to share some of the experiences we had along the way with our local wineries. Because we were blessed with a Press/Trade pass, we got in early to taste some rare wines. Any errors are mine and mine alone. I’m skipping adding the AVA and county in these listings as they are all from the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, Monterey County. As a practice, I do not correct typos from winery websites. Notetaking was minimal, but I will do my best to present some of the wines, impressions and experiences we had at this event. Tomorrow’s post will dive deeper into some local wineries.
Let’s go!
ROAR: A stop at ROAR allowed us to taste two of their fantastic library wines. I noted on their website that they also make other varietals – so I definitely need to figure out how to taste them!
- 2011 ROAR Garys’ Vineyard Pinot Noir (#1326): A rich and intense wine. We preferred this one.
- 2009 ROAR Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir (#1327): Earth and perfume on the nose. Tasty palate.
McIntyre Vineyards: Since we just wrote up McIntyre, we got a quick taste of 2 special wines:
- 2020 Winemaker Series Pinot Noir – Sabrine Rodems (#1328): Rich and delicious, with a dark cherry finish.
- 2019 McIntyre Pinot Noir (#1329): Earthier, representative of SLH.
Pisoni Vineyards: I finally got to meet the legendary Gary Pisoni and his son and tasted 3 of their wines:
- 2023 Lucy Rose of Pinot Noir (#1330)
- 2021 Lucia by Pisoni Chardonnay, Soberanes Vineyard (#1331)
- 2022 Lucia by Pisoni Pinot Noir, Gary’s Vineyard (#1332): In my opinion, best Pinot Noir of the day!
And I will add here a stop at Cattelya from Rohnert Park, which I wrote about last year so I could taste their latest Syrahs:
- 2021 Cattelya The Initiation Syrah (#1333): Fruitier.
- 2022 Cattelya The Reward Syrah (#1334): Leaner, more elegant. Best Syrah of the day!
We also briefly stopped at 2 more local wineries: Morgan, which was pouring a couple of its Double L Vineyard Pinot Noirs, and Scheid, which had a Chardonnay and a library Pinot Noir for us to taste. I failed to get any notes at either!
THE NEW-TO-US WINES AT THIS SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS EXTRAVAGANZA
Now I will move into the wineries we did not know – our focus of this tasting.
MORET-BREALYNN WINES
“A boutique winery in Sonoma County with a focus on Pinot Noir and supporting animal shelters.”
2023 Moret-Brealynn Rose of Pinot Noir, 13.1% ABV, $28 (#1335):
Winemaker’s Notes: “Hooray, this wine is back in stock! Very similar to the 2022 I made from two fabulous vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands but offers a little more acidity and lift because I took juice that was five days on the skins instead of seven like I did in 2022. I source juice that has zero skin contact, then 48 hours later I take juice off the skins and stems, and make the blend complete with juice that was on the skins for five days. Fermented and aged in neutral French oak barrels, this wine has delicious flavors of watermelon and strawberry which a great acidity that just keeps you wanting more. Less cases produced than 2022 so don’t dawdle on getting this wine into your fridge. I can’t wait to see what you pair with this wine.”
My Notes: A vibrant color in the glass. Perhaps the most delicious rose we tried at this event! May 2024
CLARICE WINE COMPANY
“Clarice Wine Company is a new and truly unique type of winery, combining aspects of an online wine community, a wine education website, and a limited-enrollment wine club.” Hm…so this is something different and worth heading to their website to learn more about them!
2021 Clarice Pinot Noir (#1336):
Winery Notes for the 2019: “The Santa Lucia Highlands is a Pinot Noir made from barrels sourced from Rosella’s Vineyard and Garys’ Vineyard. This purposeful blend is usually less new oak so more fruit flavors can shine through and should continue to evolve for a decade.”
My notes: Vibrant Ruby. This is not your typical SLH Pinot Noir – in a good way. May 2024
2019 Clarice Pinot Noir, Rosella’s Vineyard (the VIP pour) (#1337):
Winery Notes: “Fruit for this wine comes from two acres at Rosella’s Vineyard, two different sections and two different clones – Pommard and Pisoni. A beautifully balanced profile, this wine can be enjoyed any time over the coming decade.”
My Notes: Dark ruby in color. Rich on the palate. Delicious. One of today’s best. May 2024
TRUCKEE RIVER WINERY
“Established in 1989. Truckee River Winery is California’s highest and coldest winery. It all started in the garage of two Truckee locals. For 9 years, this ski lover and his wife, both UC Davis graduates, made great wine for their friends and family in the Truckee/Tahoe community before deciding to expand. They moved the winery into a two story barn on the river where they could make 1000 cases with the help of their daughter and friends. In 2009, they opened a tasting room on Brockway Road and expanded production to 2,500 cases annually. They specialize in single vineyard varietals and are known through out the area as producing high quality vintages year after year.”
2020 Truckee River Winery Barrel Aged Chardonnay, Tondré Grapefield , 13.8% ABV, $38 (#1338)
Winery Notes: “Produced in a more traditional french fashion, this oaked Chardonnay balances ML fermentation with oak aging to create a crisp and smooth white wine with aromas of honeydew, light toast and creme fraiche. On the palate, our Chardonnay displays a harmonious blend of asian pair, orange blossom and hints of starfruit, finishing with a hint of pie crust.”
My Notes: A nice Chardonnay with a lot of minerality. May 2024
2018 Truckee River Winery Best Man Pinot Noir, Tondré Grapefield, 15.8% ABV, $77 (#1339)
Winery Notes: “Medium ruby and deep purple hue with full aromas of cassis and sweet spice with a hint of fresh earth. The palate is rich, nearly full-bodied, with ripe black fruit, subtle spice and vanilla. Toasted oak, leather, and dark cherry is sustained on the midpalate. The finish is complex with balanced acidity and mouth-filling tannins that balance the generous fruit intensity of this wine nicely.”
My Notes: A big mouthful of deliciousness with a slightly bitter finish. May 2024
2014 Truckee River Winery Pinot Noir, Tondré Grapefield, 14.7% ABV (#1340)
My notes: One could detect the age in the color of this wine. Representative of the region.
2010 Truckee River Winery Pinot Noir, Garys’ Vineyard, 15.4% ABV (#1341)
My Notes: Very delicious – rich in flavor. I preferred this one. Love these library wines!
CHATEAU MARGENE/MOONEY FAMILY
“Chateau Margene, now in its 26th year, began with the fulfillment of a dream by Michael & Margene Mooney to plant a vineyard, build a winery and establish their home in the Paso Robles area in 1997. The family took up residence on the property in the Summer of 1998 (where they still live today) and planted the estate vineyard in the Fall of 1998… The Mooney Family label was started in 2004 with purchased grapes from growers in the Santa Lucia Highlands (SLH) and Sta. Rita Hills AVA’s. The varietal focus for Mooney Family wines is Pinot Noir & Chardonnay from the SLH & SRH AVA’s.”
2023 Mooney Family Steel Chardonnay, $58 (#1342)
Winery Notes: “Exceptional blend – fruit driven with crisp minerality and natural acidity makes this a Spring/Summer wine to enjoy with friends and family. 100% Santa Lucia Highlands fruit off the esteemed Boekenoogen Vineyard.”
My Notes: Lean with lots of minerality. May 2024
2021 Mooney Family Pinot Noir, Boekenoogen Vineyard, $90 (#1343)
Winery Notes: “Pommard 4 and Dijon 115 clones aged in Francois Feres barrels for 23 months. Intensely dark for a 100% Pinot Noir. Rich & robust with aromatics of black/red cherry, cola and warm baking spices. A layered wine with fleshy fruits and chewy tannins. Be amazed by this its smooth, pleasing mouthfeel and finish.”
My Notes: Dill on the nose with flavors representative of SLH. May 2024
2022 Mooney Family Pinot Noir, Tondré Grapefield (#1344)
My Notes: Classic – richer and slightly sweeter than the previous one. I preferred this one.
SIDURI
“Our winemaking goal is to produce Pinot Noir that best captures the distinct flavor and character of a given vineyard site and region. To that end, we focus on Pinot Noir, and source only from vineyards that provide us with exceptional fruit. Siduri, named for the Babylonian goddess of wine, is the result of our founders’ mutual love of Pinot Noir, and their dream that they could make great wines of their own.” You can read more here.
2021 Siduri Pinot Noir, Garys’ Vineyard, $75 (#1345)
Winery Notes: “…The 2021 Garys’ opens with floral notes and sage with lingering dark fruit. The palate has laser-like focus upon the first sip then gradually expands with flavors of seared tomato, crushed gravel, and roasted cranberry. With brilliant acidity and expressive tannins, the finish is beautifully knit and persistent. This would benefit from decanting and will be one that can be kept in the cellar for some years to come.”
My Notes: Elegant and smooth with some tobacco on the finish. May 2024
2021 Siduri Pinot Noir, Rosella’s Vineyard, 14.5% ABV, $70 (#1346)
Wine Enthusiast – 93 points: “Intense aromas of dark cherry, raspberry and vibrant cinnamon pop on the nose of this bottling. The palate combines floral flavors of elderflower and violet with a black plum core, pushing deeply into the finish.” — Matt Kettmann
My Notes: I think I am becoming a Rosella’s Vineyard girl – I liked this wine.
2021 Siduri Pinot Noir, Soberanes Vineyard, 14.4% ABV , $70 (#1347)
Wine Enthusiast – 91 points: “Cleanly presented aromas of smashed boysenberry and black plum are lifted by cinnamon and mace on the nose of this bottling. Those spice elements hold firm through the sip, where Red Hot candy enlivens the rich red-fruit core.” — Matt Kettmann
My Notes: By this point, our palates were weary. We detected no nose and this wine seemed lighter than the others.
THE TASTING ROOMS
Please refer to individual winery websites for their tasting room locations and hours!
© Decanting Monterey 2023
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[…] This is part 2 of my coverage of the Santa Lucia Highlands Sun, Wind & Wine Festival at Mer Soleil winery. You can read part 1 here: Sun Wind Wine: A Santa Lucia Highlands Extravaganza Part 1. […]