I never get an advance notice on what wines we are to expect from “A Taste of Monterey” a wine club that we joined years ago, on our first trip to Carmel-by-the-Sea.  I realize that most people just refer to the city as Carmel, but I enjoy the quaintness of the real name.  I am getting side tracked already, which is not that uncommon.  Carmel is known for many things to a myriad of people, and besides the celebrities, the city is known as an art colony, though you better be quite an accomplished artist to reside there.  The funny thing is that we have never bought any art work in Carmel, but as we wondered around Monterey, even before we found our wine club, we found a piece of art that has the premier center of attention in our home. 

Through the efforts of “A Taste of Monterey” and their Reserve Wine Selections we have encountered the Scott Family Estate wines from Arroyo Secco (Dry Creek) AVA, a sub region of Monterey County.  The funny thing is that Scott Family Estate is from Carneros in Napa Valley and is actually part of the much larger Rutherford Ranch Winery of Napa Valley, and they actually have a total of nine different labels and the wines can be tasted at their tasting room in Rutherford, Napa Valley. 

The Scott Family Estate Pinot Noir Arroyo Secco 2017 is actually our first Pinot Noir from them, as I have had two distinct vintages of their Arroyo Secco Chardonnay and they also produce a Chardonnay from Carneros in the Napa Valley, but I have never had it.  As you may have noticed I have discussed a couple of areas in Monterey that produce great varietals that one normally associates with the Burgundy region of France.  The growing season in the Arroyo Secco is usually a couple of weeks longer than in Napa, and it is perfect for the finicky Pinot Noir grape.  The entire estate vineyard is planted with Dijon Clone Pinot Noir and this wine has been aged for ten months in a mixture of French and American Oak.  The tasting notes promise a well-balanced wine with bright acidity, with a nose of cherry and sage, a taste of cherry and berries, vanilla spice, silky tannins and a nice long finish.  All of the right notes have been mentioned and Pinot Noir wines are very popular in this house and it will not go to waste.