THE STORY
Remember our Monterey Peninsula power outage in mid-December? Yeah, that one was not easy to forget. We decided to head to Carmel-By-The-Sea for holiday shopping and ended up at the Wrath Tasting Room in Carmel Plaza to see if there were any new Syrahs being poured. We tasted 4 new (to us) wines and took some home! There we were hosted once again by Cynthia, whom we had last seen in their Soledad tasting room.
My last post about Wrath was here: Wrath: A Quiet Afternoon on the Monterey Wine Trail! I’ve written about their wines a few times – just type “Wrath” in the Decanting Monterey search bar.
ABOUT WRATH
From the Wrath website:
“The wrath of Juno sent Aeneas wandering the Mediterranean in Vergil’s Aeneid. For the ancient Romans, ira or wrath, was a tool of a god, an unstoppable anger driven by forces greater than man. One can argue that we see such fury in both the might of nature and the passion of art. Wrath appears in the edgy power of Robert Plant’s voice and the raw wail of Eric Clapton’s guitar. It is frozen into Jackson Pollock’s violent splatters of paint. Wrath is in the wall of maritime fog that rolls into the Salinas Valley and the relentless afternoon winds that scream through our grape trellises. Wrath wines represent a nexus of nature and an unbridled passion for winemaking. Welcome to Wrath.”
“Wrath produces site-driven Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, and Sauvignon Blanc from our estate vineyard and respected properties in the Santa Lucia Highlands. Our production is small, our distribution is limited and our wines reveal attitude, passion, and an inherent respect for what a vineyard can give us.”
THE WINES
Today I am presenting 4 Wrath wines from this December mini-tasting. Winery notes come from the tasting sheet or their website, unless otherwise noted. You can read more about each wine on their website. Any errors are mine and mine alone. As a rule, I do not correct typos from the wineries’ websites.
2021 Wrath Pinot Noir, Cortada Alta, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, Monterey County, 14.2% ABV, $55 (#1511)
Winery Notes: “Wrath’s newest Single Vineyard Pinot Noir offering; Cortada Alta offers a leaner, more European style of Pinot, that showcases structure with youthful tannins that give way to subtle flavors of red and black cherry, a touch of dried herb and a bright juiciness that keeps the wine beautifully balanced.”
“Cortada Alta is the highest planted vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. Because of the challenges in dealing with thin, rocky soils and nearly constant exposure to strong cold winds that hit the clusters throughout the year, Swiss/German clones Mariafeld and Wadenswil were selected for this site. These two clones grow and ripen nicely in their environment and offer a sophisticated, interesting selection not usually found in our growing area. This bottling is a leaner, more European style of Pinot; it showcases structure with youthful tannins that give way to subtle flavors of red and black cherry, a touch of dried herb and a bright juiciness that keeps the wine beautifully balanced.”
My Review: Stems, plum and barnyard on the nose. The underlying fruit is cloaked in flavors of orange and dark cherry with a tannic finish. There is some underlying fruit hidden inside. December 2024
2021 Wrath Destruction Level, Monterey AVA, Monterey County, 14.5% ABV, $39 (#1512)
Winery Notes: “Concentrated and intense, this blend is upfront with mulled dark fruit, soy and earthy undertones. The palate is generous and seamless with mulberry, cola and a long lively finish.”
“In antiquity, the wrath of a victorious army often left cities burnt to the ground. Thousands of years later, these events show up as dark carbon-filled strata, or destruction levels, in the archaeological record. The subtle smoky quality that permeates Wrath Destruction Level Rhone Blend is an ode to the smoke-filled smell of victory that greeted the victorious armies of the ancient world. This red Rhone blend is composed of Syrah and Grenache from colder sites in Monterey County. Inky and intense, this blend is upfront with mulled dark fruit, soy and earthy undertones. The palate is generous and seamless with mulberry, cola and a long lively finish.”
My Review: Nose finishes with bright raspberry. Grenache dominates on the palate. December 2024
2021 Wrath EX Syrah, Monterey AVA, Monterey County, 14.5% ABV, $25 (#1513)
Winery Notes: “Full-flavored and savory, this wine has dark berries, black pepper and dried herbs all wrapped with velvet tannins.”
“This wine captures the savory side of our estate-grown, cool-climate syrah clusters. Black peppercorn, rosemary, cola and blueberry aromas show on the nose, while the palate has more of the same along with cracked pepper, ripe olallieberry and dried meaty flavors. This bottling is a slightly younger, less oaky version of its bigger brother, San Saba Vineyard Syrah.” 90 points – Wine Enthusiast
My Review: Sulfur and smoke on the nose. Smooth palate – would be a good food wine. A decent entry-level Syrah which I would serve for a party or present in a class. December 2024
2019 Wrath Syrah, San Saba Vineyard, Monterey AVA, Monterey County, 14.6% ABV, $39 (#1514)
Wine Enthusiast – 92 points: “Pleasantly funky aromas of toasted nori and iodine mix with cracked pepper and dense berry plum paste on the nose of this single-vineyard expression. The cool-climate cracked pepper flavor is very powerful on the palate, spicing up what mulberry, plum and roasted fig flavors, with charred meat lingering deep into the finish.” Matt Kettmann April 2022
My Review: Dark in the glass. Big bouquet of spice with a touch of barnyard cloaking dark fruit notes. Rich feel on the palate. The dark fruit core is wrapped in cedar and spice. December 2024
THE TASTING ROOM
Wrath has 2 places to taste their wines and we think they are both lovely. So handy to stop in at Carmel Plaza, but what a treat to drive out River Road to the bucolic setting of their winery – bring your lunch!
Winery Tasting Room: “Located at 35801 Foothill Road (at the junction of River Road) in Soledad, CA, 5 minutes west of Hwy 101. Open Fri-Mon from 11-5pm, closed Tue-Wed-Thurs. Direct: 831.678.2992”
Carmel Tasting Room: “Located in Carmel Plaza, downtown Carmel at the corner of Ocean Ave. and Mission St., ground floor. Open Fri and Sat from 11-6pm. Open Sun through Thur from 11-5pm”
© Decanting Monterey 2025
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