It is always fun to hunt down what I feel are wines truly representative of what we can do here in Monterey for my wine classes. My next one is for the Northern Virginia American Wine Society. I was reading the Wine Enthusiast Magazine a couple of months back and saw this Monterey Chardonnay earned the #9 spot on The Enthusiast 100: The Best Wines of 2021. I tracked it down at a market in Carmel-By-The-Sea and we served it during a family reunion. Now that I have finally tasted it, I hope I can still acquire a couple more bottles!
About Diora: “At Diora, indulgence indeed begins in the Vineyard. Diora is the culmination of a thirty-year vineyard-to-bottle journey at the Santa Lucia Highlands and our family-owned San Bernabe estate in Monterey. Specific blocks at San Bernabe were replanted in the early 1990s in a unique wind orientation to allow the vines to thrive off the Monterey Bay’s cool ocean breezes and thicken the skins to heighten the luscious, round textures on the palate. The elevated positioning of the Santa Lucia Highlands helps produce Diora’s underlying structure and mouth-coating texture.” Diora is part of the Delicato family of wines.
2019 Diora La Splendeur du Soleil Chardonnay, San Bernabe AVA, Monterey, 14.5% ABV, $20 (Wine #652*)
Winemaker’s Notes: “This Diora La Splendeur du Soleil Chardonnay is a beautiful, golden hue, with aromas of toasted oak mingle with light spice notes of cinnamon. The delicate flavors of vanilla bean give way to a lovely, soft and light buttery layer. This reminds one of a rich, yet delicate crème brûlée with a soft, round mouthfeel that will pair beautifully with lobster or sautéed scallops. The light acidity and long finish of this wine will also be a great accompaniment to a variety of dishes.” This wine comes mostly from its San Bernabe estate vineyard, where it gets its tropical notes. The rest comes from its Santa Lucia Highlands vineyard, providing more of the citrusy balance.
Wine Enthusiast – 93 points: “Excellently presented aromas of butter, nectarine, warm almond and white flower are delicate but expressive on the nose of this bottling. An immediate acidity races through the palate, lifting the toasty and buttery elements while pairing smartly against the ripe citrus and white flower elements.” Matt Kettmann, December 2021
My Review: Viscous and golden in the glass. Tropical nose with melon and a touch of smoke. Grilled peach and pineapple on the palate with toasted caramel on the finish. This was a very interesting, atypical Chardonnay which everyone enjoyed. April 2022
Diora’s website contains a tab for finding their wines near you. You can also order their wines from their website – it will take you to Delicato’s purchasing engine. While Diora does not appear to have a tasting room, Delicato Family Wines is located at 12001 South Highway 99 in Manteca, California between Modesto and Stockton and is open every day from 9am – 5:30pm. You can find more details here.
*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.
My neighbor was in town last month and she is always game to “help” me with my wine blog. We belong to the same winery out in Carmel Valley Village – and she was willing to check out Joyce with me. I hadn’t been to Joyce since December 2019, when I picked up a case of James Joyce Merlot for a planned (and cancelled) wine class. My DC area friends enjoyed that case of wine during the pandemic. In the hopes of finding another Merlot for my next class, we headed to Joyce.
We were warmly welcomed in the tasting room and headed outside to one of the very nice tables for the tasting. Our server was very knowledgeable and provided us tons of information, answering even my peskiest question. The menu was very much focused on Monterey wines from across the county: Carmel Valley, Monterey, and Santa Lucia Highlands sub-AVAs. While I was still on a mission to find wines for a class, the menu didn’t include their James Joyce label from San Benito County. And no Merlot to try: sold out. And no industry discount. Alas, I can’t get lucky every time!
Today I am presenting 5 wines we tasted at their Tasting Room in February, plus 1 I purchased for later consumption. Unless otherwise specified, winery notes come from their website. The map below gives a good visual on the vineyards they use for their wines.
2018 Joyce Wine Co Escolle Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands, 13.3% ABV, $35 (#643*)
Winemaker Notes: “The fruit for this Chardonnay comes from Escolle Vineyard located at the Northern end of the Santa Lucia Highlands. This site is impeccably farmed by the Caraccioli Family, who are incredible stewards of their land. Very low water usage translates into low yields of intense fruit full of flavor and acidity. The strong marine influence and well drained gravelly loam soils of Chular combine to deliver Chardonnay fruit that showcases both power and finesse.”
Tasting notes: “AROMA Rose hips, stone fruit, clove spice, toast/dough, river stone FLAVOR Apple, bosc pear, wild peach, steely/mineral, brioche/lees”
My Review: Pale golden in color. Tropical notes on the nose. Balanced oak on the tasty and lively palate, with a touch of lime on the finish. We liked this wine. February 2022
Winemaker’s Notes (condensed from the Tech Sheet): “The Gabilan Mountain Pinot Noir comes from a small vineyard site positioned on a soft slope located on the east side of the Salinas Valley in Monterey County. Soils consisting of decomposed granite and limestone allow for an ethereal expression of Pinot Noir. To highlight and preserve the purity of the wine, grapes were fermented using partial whole-cluster and native yeast. The resulting wine was then aged for 10 months in neutral French oak barrels before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. These honest winemaking practices combined with thoughful farming allow this vineyard site to show both power and finesse.” 18 barrels produced.
My Review: Translucent bright ruby in the glass with a bright red berry nose. Smooth on the palate with light berry flavors with subtle structure on the finish. A pleasant wine. February 2022
2019 Joyce Wine Co Tondre Grapefield Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, $45 (#645*)
Winemaker Notes: “Tondre Grapefield captures the soul of the Santa Lucia Highlands in the glass with dark brambly fruit, spice, light earth tones and a decedent textural mouth feel that comes from the cool climate site set of the regions sandy loams. This vintage shines with a deep garnet/ruby hue and a medium/full bodied palate of blackberry, plum and of course cherry fruits along with a touch of tea spice, lavender and soft oak. This wine gains in the glass and while youthful fresh it delivers an excellent play between lush ripe fruit and savory briar notes, this is not a vintage to miss.” 18 barrels produced.
My Review: Richer and darker in color, seemingly a tiny bit cloudy in the glass, with a richer bouquet than the previous wine. Richer flavors on the palate, with some tartness in the balance. February 2022
2019 Russell Joyce Grenache Syrah, Monterey, 13.7% ABV, $38 (#646*)
Winemaker’s Notes: “The special Small Lot Collection Grenache-Syrah is a blend of 70% Grenache from Cedar Lane and 30% Tondre Grapefield Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah. Mostly concrete tank fermentation and aging making for a new California expression of a Southern Rhone style red in an ode to Chateaneuf-du-Pape. The ripe and dark fruited Grenache-Syrah has an intense purple/magenta hue in the glass with an incredible bouquet of wild flowers and spices that leads to a forward palate of olallieberry, racy plum, red currant and huckleberry fruits, sprigs of lavender, pepper, minty notes and a fresh tang with some delicate floral tones, savory elements and lingering kirsch. Seriously proportioned and dense without being heavy, this very limited Grenache-Sryah release, develops nicely with air and love the studied display of fruit and stony earth that comes out.”
My Review: Berry on the nose. A nice palate of robust, smooth fruit – very appealing to my taste. February 2022
2019 Russell Joyce Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmel Valley 13.8% ABV, $60 (#647*)
Notes from the Tasting Room: The grapes for this wine come from the Joullian Vineyard in Carmel Valley. With light oak notes, it is a more fuller representation of the fruit.
My Review: Dense, dark ruby in the glass. Berry notes on the nose. A medium palate of dark berry flavors. Pretty yummy. February 2022
2019 Joyce Wine Co Tondre Grapefield Syrah, Santa Lucia Highlands, 13.4% ABV, $35 (#648*)
Winemaker’s Notes: “Planted in 1997, Tondré Grapefield sits in the center of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. The terroir is defined by portruding Southeast facing slopes, strong marine influences from the Monterey Bay and ancient glacial soils consisting of decomposed granite, gravel and sandy loam. To show transparency, the fruit was harvested at moderate sugars and fermented using 60% whole clusters and native yeasts. The wine was then aged for 10 months in a combination of small concrete vessels and neutral French oak barrels before being bottled infined and unfiltered. These honest winemaking practices combined with thoughtful farming allow the savory fruit and natural acidity of this cool climate Syrah to shine.” 10 barrels produced.
My Review: Fresh ruby in the glass. At first, Bing cherry on the nose. Palate of bright, tart cherry flavors a la Jolly Rancher. As it opened up over a couple of days, the flavors balanced out, revealing a little more earth and deeper flavors. March 2022
You can buy Joyce wines from their web site or tasting room. Their tasting room is located at 1 East Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley Village is open. It has a lovely outdoor setting. You can find more information and make a reservation here.
*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 admit I am spoiled living in the heart of Chardonnay country, where we can take a short drive or simply reach into our fridge for a really delicious Chardonnay. While we aren’t the biggest white wine fans, we do enjoy sipping a good one on our front porch on a rare warm and sunny day, like the other day when we opened a stunning I Brand & Family 2018 Chardonnay from Escolle Vineyard. This wine (reviewed here before) boasted lemon colors, tropical nose, and rambunctious tropical flavors with a pineapple overlay. But I digress…
I’ve been on the road a bit dealing with family matters. Fortunately, I was sent with a lovely 6-pack of local big reds I love. I visited a relative who opened one of today’s Chardonnays and I had to resort to a grocery store for the other one for a family gathering. They both fit the Central Coast profile of this blog, so lucky me!
2019 La Crema Chardonnay, Monterey, 13.5% ABV, $20 (Wine #438*)
This is one of my Chardonnay-loving friend’s favorite Chardonnays, so I was happy to try it with my relatives. I found it rated for 89 points on wine.com.
About La Crema: “When La Crema was founded in 1979 as La Crema Viñera, meaning the Best of the Vine, the name was intended as an unabashed boast: These vineyards produced the very best grapes in the region. Today, the name has been shortened to mean, simply, the best, and La Crema’s wines represent the best grapes from preeminent cool-climate regions in California and Oregon.
“La Crema wines—inspired by Burgundian-style Chardonnay and Pinot Noir—are made in small lots that nurture distinct flavors and balance. The end result is elegant wines that are unswerving in quality over time.”
Winemaker’s Notes from their website: “Aromas of baked apple, brioche, and PINEAPPLE are followed by flavors of Asian pear, LEMON-TANGERINE, and notes of MINERALITY. The 2019 vintage presents balanced acidity and a long finish.” 100% Chardonnay; 8 months in the barrel.
My Review: Buttery, tropical notes on the nose. Butterscotch and tropical fruits on the palate – a bit sweet yet perfect for a hot Sacramento evening. Very different from the non-oaky Monterey Chardonnays I typically drink. July 2021
2019 Edna Valley Chardonnay, Central Coast, 13% ABV, $9 (Wine #439*)
When you are stuck in a small town SavMor for wine options, the selection is far from what I can find at even my local Safeway. We know Edna Valley for its excellent wine, so this was the safest, best choice available!
About Edna Valley Vineyard: “The region now home to Edna Valley Vineyard saw its first grapes planted in the days of the California missions. In the 1800s, it was believed that the grapes in this region were of the highest quality. Today, we still hold this to be true. Following in the footsteps of our founder, pioneering vineyard developer Jack Niven, we continue to craft award-winning Chardonnay – the first variety planted in the Edna Valley. In addition to our flagship Chardonnay wine, we offer five other varietal wines nationwide: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.”
Winemaker’s Notes from their website: “Our Chardonnay showcases grapes from some of California’s most sought-after wine regions in the Central Coast. The result is a dry, beautifully balanced, bold expression of Chardonnay with tropical aromas of toasted coconut and Tahitian vanilla. Juicy layers of white peach, split honeydew melon and ripe apricot are highlighted with hints of lemon zest and a crisp, refreshing finish.”
My Review: Pale but rich golden in the glass. Tropical fruits, butter and bamboo on the nose. Light and a tad sweet on the palate, balanced acidity and a touch of bitterness on the finish. A bit less flavor and minerality than I’m used to in my Monterey Chardonnays. August 2021
*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.
First and foremost, welcome to Decanting Monterey! I thought I should start at the beginning and tell you how we first became familiar with Monterey County’s many fine wines. For decades, we had been going to Napa and Sonoma to taste and buy wines. We also spent time in Cambria, not far from the fine wines of Paso Robles. Yet the main destination of those trips was always Pacific Grove, where my in-laws lived. And when it was chilly and foggy in Pacific Grove, we could always go to Carmel Valley for warmth and sunshine.
We started visiting the tasting rooms in Carmel Valley in the late 1990’s. Back then, we knew about Bernardus (the first tasting room to open in Carmel Valley!), Chateau Julien (now Folktale), Chateau Sinnet, Georis, Heller (formerly Durney and now Massa Estates), Joullian, and Talbott. We were fortunate at Heller to pick up some amazing half-bottles of Durney Cabernet Sauvignon from its estate in Cachagua, where some of the Carmel Valley AVA’s finest wines are grown.
As the years went by, it seemed every time we went to Carmel Valley, we would find new tasting rooms and wines to explore. We would ask, “What other wines should we check out?” and we were guided to new places to explore. We asked this question at Joullian and its tasting room staff said, “Let me make a phone call.” He called up to Parsonage and asked if we could come up to taste their wines. The winemaker there, asked if we were serious wine buyers and the answer was yes. We headed up to the winery (before they had a tasting room) and discovered that Carmel Valley can produce the big reds we love. They turned us on to their neighboring winery, Boëté, and later, Silvestri.
Inside the Parsonage Winery
We saw more and more tasting rooms open every time we drove out to Carmel Valley Village. Boekenoogen, Cima Collina, and the string of tasting rooms in the old White Oak shopping center – back then it was Parsonage, Holman Ranch, Chesebro, Chalone, Joyce, Marilyn Remark, and Dawn’s Dream. Today, swap in Rexford and I Brand. And along Pilot Road where Cowgirl and Talbott are, some wineries from elsewhere opened tasting rooms: Idle Hour, Twisted Roots and Bunter Spring. And Rombi opened showcasing his huge Cabs and Merlots.
We didn’t just taste wine in Carmel Valley – we also explored the many wineries in Carmel, including Blair, Figge, Galante, Hahn, Scheid, Silvestri, Wrath and more. Plus a “research trip” drive down the Salinas Valley to the Arroyo Seco AVA to see first had some of my favorite vineyards including Zabala and Cedar Lane and back up to taste wines at Wrath, Hahn, Pessagno, Puma Road and Odonata. Check out a current map of tasting rooms here.
Rolling Vineyards in Salinas Valley
Before we moved back to the Monterey area, I began to present Monterey wines as a volunteer wine educator at the Washington Wine and Cheese Seminar (WWCS) in Washington DC, where I had been a member since about 1999. That’s when I learned about the Monterey Vintners & Growers Association – the best place for authoritative information about Monterey wines. Kim Stemler has been very helpful to me in getting information for my classes. I have also presented Monterey Wines to the Northern Virginia American Wine Society chapter, as well as a class on Paicines AVA wines for WWCS.
I started to be referred to as the Monterey wine expert. I decided if I was going to have that label, I’d better get some official training. I completed the Wine & Spirits Educational Trust Level 1 in January 2020. I see this blog website as my next big step. Now, let’s get onto some wine reviews!
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