I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you to the San Antonio AVA and Pierce Ranch. The San Antonio Valley AVA is not one you can easily drive to – it is tucked away toward the southwestern end of Monterey County, past Arroyo Seco and nestled between the Big Sur coastline and Salinas Valley, with climate more like that of Paso Robles than the rest of the Monterey AVAs.
Appelation America has an excellent description of this AVA: “Had the Monterey grape growers and wineries of the 1970s looked at the history of grape growing in the county a little closer, they may well have planted their Cabernet Sauvignon vines in the newly approved (July, 2006) San Antonio Valley AVA, located in the southern extreme of the county. This growing area was one of the first places in the United States to be planted with grapes, as early missionaries recognized that the region’s climate was ideally suited for producing wine. The original mission, San Antonio de Padua, established here in 1771, remains standing to this day, as a symbol of this region’s rich heritage and its significance in the history of California viticulture.”
According to the Monterey Vintners and Growers Association, (my go-to resource for all things Monterey Wines – on Facebook at Monterey Wines), “As one of Monterey County’s warmer AVA’s, San Antonio Valley experiences a large daily degree differential. Warmer weather allows fruit to fully mature while colder night temperatures preserve balanced acids and sugar ratios. This climate lends itself well to many Bordeaux and Rhone Varietals as well as Zinfandel.”
Pierce Ranch Vineyards is a small, family-owned operation. From Pierce Vineyards web page: “Pierce Ranch Vineyards is a small, family-owned operation centered in southern Monterey County’s San Antonio Valley appellation. We produce limited-run, estate-grown wines with an emphasis on Spanish and Portuguese varieties.” I spoke with their tasting room manager in late September, who informed me that Pierce Ranch received many awards in the 2020 Monterey International Wine Competition 2020 Monterey International Wine Competition, including Gold Medal and Best Tempranillo for their 2017 Tempranillo (will be reviewed in a future post), and Silver for the 2017 Touriga, Petite Sirah, and Malbec!
2017 Pierce Ranch Touriga, San Antonio Valley AVA, 13.4% ABV, $30 (#31*)
From the bottle: “Perched in a highland valley at the southern tip of Monterey County, our vineyards, with their wide variation in diurnal temperate and rocky soils, provide an excellent setting for the classic grape varieties of Spain and Portugal. Among these, Touriga – a native of Portugal’s Douro Valley – is undoubtedly one of the most promising. Estate grown in a hilltop block of our Y Ranch Vineyard, the 2017 vintage offers up a lovely, sumptuous wine with solid tannins and truly intriguing aromatics. A limited-run bottling, it was fermented in a single, small lot and aged in French oak for 18 months. Rich black currant and black plum are accompanied by traces of spice and floral notes.”
My Review: Plum in color, with a nose of raspberry jam with the sweetness offset by acidity, like a sweet tart with cinnamon on the finish. The nose carries over to the palate – raspberry and sour cherry with bubble gum, mint and cedar notes; tannins and clove on the lingering finish. It becomes a bit more Cabernet Sauvignon-like the longer it is open. This smooth wine is very young – cellar it for a while.
Pierce Ranch 2017 GSP, San Antonio AVA, 14.9% ABV, $22 (#56*) 62% Grenache, 36% Syrah, 2% Petite Sirah
From Pierce Vineyards: “Originating in our vineyards in southern Monterey County’s San Antonio Valley appellation, our GSP is an estate-grown blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Petite Sirah. Benefiting from the abundant sunlight, rocky calcerous soils, and wide diurnal temperature variation of our region, the 2017 vintage is a versatile, medium-bodied wine full of bright fruit and with a lively, buoyant, character. Handcrafted on a limited scale, its components were fermented in small lots and aged in French oak for 15 months. Notes of wild strawberry, cherry, and raspberry are accompanied by traces of florality.”
My Review: Light in color, this wine has a sweet, bright berry nose, Bing cherry and berry on the palate and a little leather on the finish. I was hoping for a bigger wine, so I would have preferred less “G” and more “S” and “P.” For those of you who like a lighter red, this may be the wine for you! May 2020
2015 Pierce Ranch Petite Sirah, San Antonio AVA, 15.8% ABV, $25 (#95*)
From Pierce Vineyards, “…Located in the southernmost tip of Monterey County, the newly declared San Antonio Valley appellation is already showing itself to be an ideal region for producing nuanced, complex Petite Sirah. Consisting entirely of fruit sourced from our Y Ranch Vineyard’s rocky, hillside Block 1, this, our 2015 bottling, provides and elegant expression of the variety with excellent depth and solid tannic structure. Produced on a very limited scale, it was fermented in small lots and then aged, unracked, in French oak for 18 months. Aromas and flavors of blueberry, black currant, and black plum combined with a savory component and traces of spice.”
My Review: Very deep purple, dark in color. Nose of cinnamon rolls. Blueberry and blackberry on the palate – very smooth with a touch of sweetness – at 15.8% alcohol, it is creeping up on port-like qualities with dark plum and currant flavors. A very easy drinking Petite Sirah. A bargain at $25 – I bought this wine again, along with other vintages. July 2020
2016 Pierce Ranch Claret, San Antonio AVA. 13.8%, $28** (#142*) 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Petit Verdot, 13% Malbec, 1% Grenache
Pierce Ranch Claret Notes: “…Benefiting from the region’s high elevation, rocky soils, and wide variation in diurnal temperature, the 2016 vintage is a nuanced, well-balanced wine with an elegant texture, restrained fruit, and a solid tannic structure. Produced on a very limited scale, its components were fermented in small lots and aged in French oak for 18 months. Flavors and aromas of red cherry, black currant, and plum combine with hints of cedar and tobacco leaf.”
My Review: Raspberry and blackberry on the nose. Raspberry, tart cherry and plum on the palate, with a smooth, licorice finish. This is a very tasty, everyday Claret.
Check out their Facebook page at Piece Ranch Vineyards for their weekly specials. This might be the chance to get some of their wines before they sell out (such small production means the favorites are gone before we even know they are there). You can order their wines via Pierce Vineyard Tasting Room or at (831) 372-8900, and they’ll arrange for curbside pickup or shipping (which is just $5 anywhere in California.) Also, they recently started shipping to DC and Virginia, my friends!
*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.
**This wine was given to me by Pierce Ranch to review.
© Decanting Monterey 2020
Recent Comments