I just signed for my new wine club selections from A Taste of Monterey. This is a wine club that we discovered on our first trip to Carmel-by-the-Sea. The newsletter that was enclosed with the shipment announced that they are celebrating their twentieth anniversary of being in business. There is a brief history of the club and that three of the founders of the concept are still on the board, so that is some continuity on this project. Another thing that I enjoyed reading this brochure was that they had a sidebar that featured the different logos of A Taste of Monterey through the twenty years, as a former merchant I enjoyed seeing the changes. Just to make it clear to everyone reading this, some of the wine Bloggers enjoy receiving wines for their enjoyment and for them to write honestly about, I do not have to worry about that as I am a paying member of the club, so the three wines that I receive like clock-work is prepaid on my standing charge card order. So far, every wine that I have wrote about have been paid out of my wallet or given to me as a gift or I have shared in the cost as we split a restaurant bill. So with out further ado, let me mention the three bottles of wine that I unpacked.

The first wine is from Wrath Estate Winery of Soledad, California; a winery that I have written about some of their wines. The selection that I received is Wrath San Saba Syrah 2011. The San Saba Vineyard is 72 acres just below the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, where they grow Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Muscat. The location requires this wine to carry the larger Monterey AVA. There were 168 cases of this wine produced and the aging potential is eight to ten years. I am sure that I will enjoy it before then.

The next wine is a new one to me Aiena Pinot Noir 2009 which carries a Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. So far every Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands has been a winner to me, and I am hoping this tradition continues, as this area seems to be an ideal micro-climate for this fussy varietal that I am very fond of. This particular wine is a blending of grapes from two vineyards; Mission Ranch and Silacci. According to the notes this vintage is showier then the 2008 vintage and there were 425 cases produced and the aging potential is five to seven years.

The last wine in the package is from a winery that we have visited, and at the time were not offering this particular varietal in the tasting room. Heller Estate Petit Verdot 2009 with a Carmel Valley AVA is the wine I am really looking forward to trying. The write up also discussed how the winery had to work around the weather the entire season, as it was not a typical growing climate that they encountered. Heller Estate is now one of the 100% organic listed wineries, and while I do not get too excited over this new fanfare, enough people do that I guess it should be mentioned. I have not had too many bottles of pure Petit Verdot, as normally I encounter it as part of a blend in other red wines, so this should be very interesting. There were 250 cases of this wine produced and the aging potential is eight to ten years