On this Ides of March, I wanted to present two completely different (opposite?) Parsonage wines. When we first met Frank Melicia, we knew he made serious wines. But he also is a bit of an innovator who tries new things, so he makes some fun blends, too. I’m bringing you one of each in today’s post!
I’ve presented Parsonage to you in several prior posts and won’t repeat about them here (just type “Parsonage” in the search bar to see them all). You can check out their website here: https://www.parsonagewine.com/.
Bill Parsons always has a story and here is the story he shared with me about our first wine, the 2008 Parsonage Estate Syrah:
“The (2008) vintage was our most celebrated and sought after in our then ten year existence. As great as the Estate version was, the Carmelstone and Rocco (Syrahs) were even greater.
“Back then Arvid Singh was the sommelier at the Sardine Factory. Ted Balesteri tasted my wines at a fundraiser at Holman Ranch and asked to set up a tasting with Arvid. I did. It was the craziest tasting I’ve ever done. I opened the Estate and the Carmelstone while he looked for his small spittoon. After he found it I poured one ounce of each. He swirled and sniffed for a long time, then took in a mouthful. He gurgled a bit, then swallowed. He asked me for another shot. I complied. He repeated the ritual two more times without spitting. I asked him what the spittoon was for. He said that all of his career he had always spit. Then he said, ‘but it would be sacrilege to expectorate the greatest Syrah he had ever tasted.’
“I laughed and said, ‘Yeah, very funny.’ It was obvious that I thought he was joking and he got quite angry at me. This was very serious stuff to him. I could probably write several hundred words describing our back and forth. The gist of it was that I challenged the idea that he had an olfactory version of eidetic memory. He said, for instance, 20 years ago he had tasted a Penfolds Grange and thought it to be the greatest he ever tasted until the Parsonage. I said, ‘The Grange isn’t here to defend its ranking.’ He said he had total olfactory recall of every great wine he had ever tasted. I called bullshit on him and he was really pissed at me.
“Finally I apologized and we kissed and made up.😎 When he tasted the Carmelstone it was more of the same, even greater than the Estate. He wanted to buy a lot more than I was willing to sell him.
“Later, I reflected on our tasting and what I had learned. I learned that Arvid and I have identical palates when it comes to Syrah because we both thought the 2008 was the best we ever tasted.
“As a footnote Arvid said, ‘The Grange is not even worthy of being on the same shelf with your Syrah.’ I thought he was a bit harsh on the famous Aussie Shiraz.”
2008 Parsonage Estate Syrah, Carmel Valley AVA, 15% ABV, $90 ($36 release price) (#261*)
Winemaker Notes: “The vintage was our most celebrated and sought after in our then ten year existence. As great as the Estate version was, the Carmelstone and Rocco were even greater…What a bomb! This is quite likely our biggest estate syrah ever. It’s more like a reserve Carmelstone or Rocco from other vintages. The nose comes with a blast of blueberry, blackberry, curry spices and cocoa. The color is pure garnet ink. The mouth feel is monumental with layers of very dark fruit, exotic spice and French oak barrel brulee. The expected signature notes of mineral and game along with hints of liquer and Amarone deliver on an exceedingly long and dramatic finish.”
My Review: Very dark in the glass with dark fruit on the nose to match. Rich dark flavors of black currant and cassis on the palate. Pretty yummy, but clearly should have been consumed some time back. Definitely need to decant and drink these older wines! March 2021
2016 Parsonage Wild Card, Monterey County, 15% ABV, $38 (#262*)
Winemaker Notes: “Downright weird from Frank’s twilight zone. It really shouldn’t work but it does every time eight years running. Syrah, Cab Sauv, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Grenache, Pinot Noir, oh my. It’s yummy and if you want to make the effort you can pick out the character of each varietal.”
My Review: Deep beautiful red in color. Plum, berry and caramel on the nose. Maybe toast notes, but that could be my popcorn. Intense fruit up from on the palate – bursting with red and black berry. A little touch of smoke and tobacco on the finish. Pleasant surprise!! February 2021
Photo courtesy of Parsonage
Parsonage is open for tastings by reservation only every day – click here for the details. You can obtain their wines directly from the winery here or at their tasting room located at19 E Carmel Valley Road in Carmel Valley Village.
*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.
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