THE STORY
In July, the Decanting Monterey Wine Pod experienced the best winery tour ever at Bernardus! Last November, at the Marinus dinner, Jim McCabe, assistant winemaker at Bernardus, invited us to come up to the winery in Cachagua for a tour. We finally made it there in July! And I would say the fun wine education aspects of the tour were what made it so special.
Winery notes for this post come from conversations with the winemaker unless otherwise indicated. You can read more about Bernardus on their website. Any errors are mine and mine alone.
Also, with all the wine events and special tastings we have done, I will be posting twice weekly for a bit to get caught up! My, we have been busy!!
Jim McCabe met us outside where he explained what happens to the grapes from the moment they arrive at the facility. He indicated that harvest is looking 2-3 weeks late this year due to the winter and spring rains. Veraison is a little late, but every really hot, sunny day we get speeds it up. Chemistry and appearance will tell them when to harvest the grapes.
In response to our questions about white grapes, they expect 2-3 tons per acre. They gently press the white grapes to avoid any off flavors. They shoot for 150-170 gallons of juice per ton.
We grabbed our glasses as we moved inside.
THE WINES
We started out tasting some Monterey Chardonnay at the filtration stage, followed by a Pinot Noir at the cold fermentation stage. We then went deep into the barrel room to do more wine education. We examined how different barrel ages affect the wine, how different yeasts influence the flavor profile, and how to recognize and resolve reduction! What fun!
2022 Bernardus Chardonnay, Monterey County (#1065)
We tasted this sample at the filtration stage.
My Review: Light golden. Nice delicious tropical nose. Pineapple and butter. Rich and sweet on the palate with a bright finish, some bitter notes yet nice. July 2023
2022 Bernardus Pinot Noir, Gary’s Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highland AVA, Monterey County (#1066)
This sample was at the cold fermentation stage.
My Notes: Garnet. Cold. Plum and perfume. Tasty palate. Smooth. July 2023
2022 Bernardus Chardonnay, Rosella’s Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highland AVA, Monterey County (#1067)
We compared 2 samples from different aged barrels.
My Notes:
New oak barrels: Buttery, tropical nose with some sulfur dioxide. Rich and viscous on palate with pineapple flavors on the finish. Wow. Big. Delicious. July 2023
3-year-old oak barrels: Faint tropical notes on nose and more sophisticated palate. Leaner yet tasty with more subtle flavors and more acidity. July 2023
2022 Bernardus Chardonnay, Sierra Mar Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highland AVA, Monterey County (#1068)
We compared 2 samples made with different yeasts – and then a combined sample! Wow – we made some wine!!
Winery Notes: Every 2 weeks, they top off the barrels and perform battonage. They expect to bottle 19 barrels of Sierra Mar Chardonnay.
My Notes:
D47 yeast: More acidic on the nose. Citrus notes. Mouthfilling, completely different flavor profile. Explodes on front end. Crushed pineapple a hidden bitterness on the finish. More acidic overall to me.
Montrachet yeast: Totally different. Pale in glass. Butter and mild pineapple on nose. More vanilla and tartness on the palate. Rounder flavors.
Blended samples: Crushed pineapple on the nose. Balanced palate. Burnt caramel on the finish. Very nice.
2022 Bernardus Cabernet Sauvignon, Marinus Vineyard, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County (#1069)
Winery Notes: A little Hungarian oak. Intended for Marinus red blend.
My Notes: Intense dark ruby in color. Tart jam on nose. Juicy on the palate.
2022 Bernardus Merlot, Marinus Vineyard, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County (#1070)
Jim had just talked to us about reduction a few moments before we tasted this wine. One of our members identified it right away, so we got to see first hand how to mitigate reduction.
Barrel sample: Rubbery notes. Reduction is starting! Bright and dark raspberry on the palate. Dark and bitter on finish.
Post-copper treatment: Immediately changed flavor: lots of jammy, berry fruit and no reductive flavors. Tasted amazing.
Other fun facts (any of which I could have captured wrong):
- They have a small, full-time staff of 8 people, plus contract support for busy times.
- In their winemaking, they use French oak barrels for a period of 3 years.
- They have some huge, 2000-gallon oak tanks which they can use for Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, taking the place of stainless tanks.
- Grapes from Santa Lucia Highlands vineyards that don’t make the vineyard designate bottlings can then become part of their Santa Lucia Highlands program.
- They are elevating their Marinus vineyard. Doing more hand work and replacing some of the old vines.
- The label: They are dropping the “B” label and going to a cleaned-up version (see the one on the right below) of the old one for brand recognition.
- They also switched cork sources to improve the reliability of their corks. Their “Monterey” line has screw tops.
- He showed us a brand new barrel and even let us sniff inside!
- They produce 45,000-61,000 cases in an average harvest year.
- And, finally, examine your spit after drinking Cabernet Sauvignon – it might surprise you. (But none of us can remember why…)
Tasting Bernardus Wines: Their tasting room, located at 5 West Carmel Valley Road, is open every day! Reservations are not required. You can see more information and book a tasting here or email tastingroom@bernardus.com or call them at 831-298-8021.
© Decanting Monterey 2023
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