We just received our wine club shipment from “A Taste of Monterey” that we joined by accident when we discovered the shop and that they could ship to Michigan, because then we were a Felony State for wine shipments, and the governor back then was sued to eliminate this, now she is back trying to eliminate Americans from buying gas stoves for their kitchens.  Regardless, of that, “A Taste of Monterey” is celebrating their thirtieth anniversary, we have been with them since 10 February 2003 and always with the Reserve Wine Selections, in anticipation of getting wines that otherwise won’t get to Michigan, because of production quantities.

The first wine that came out of the carton was Le Mistral White Witch Arroyo Seco AVA 2022.  Folktale Winery and Vineyards was originally founded in 1982 by Bob and Patty Brower, as Chateau Julien Wine Estate and they wanted to replicate their wine experiences in France to the Carmel Valley.  In 1996 they expanded the property and structures to ensure that they were making great wines, and my Bride and I visited Chateau Julien each time we had holidays in Carmel-by-the-Sea.  In 2015, the property was purchased by local winemaker, Gregory Ahn, and renamed Folktale Winery and Vineyards; and as a side note, from what I gather the label Chateau Julien is still property of the Brower family.  The five-acre vineyard at the winery is one-hundred percent organically farmed, and they are working towards this goal in the three-hundred acres in the Arroyo Seco that they maintain.  The name “White Witch” was coined by owner Greg Ahn for Monterey’s daily barrage of coastal fog and wind that moves from the cool Pacific Ocean down the Salinas Valley every afternoon.  The wine is a blend of thirty-eight percent Roussanne, thirty-four percent Marsanne, twenty-two percent Grenache Blanc, and six percent Viognier, and grown on the estate.  Each variety was harvested and pressed separately, before being racked to barrel for Initial Fermentation, and then continued through for Malolactic Fermentation.  Then the individual wines were blended in the spring, barrel aged until mid-summer, when the wine was bottled.  The wine has an estimated aging potential of about eight years.  The winery suggests the nose will offer notes of peach, apricot, honeydew melon, pear along with chalk, almond husk, and hay.  On the palate, the fruit tones continue with moderate acidity, balanced, and a soft texture and creaminess.

The second wine was Big Sur Vineyards Big Sur Red Monterey 2022.  Big Sur Vineyards began as an olive grove and they also made artisan soaps, on the edge of the Ventana Wilderness.  They began planting Rhone varietals as a hobby to see what would happen, and they eventually began producing their Big Sur Vineyards Red; recently they officially became a Rhone Ranger.  The family wine business has been evolving since their first bottling in 2013 and offering Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir Reserve, Chardonnay, and Big Sur Red.  A little later they began offering bottling of other individual varietals.  This wine originally was a blend of three varietals, but now they have added a fourth; Syrah, Petite Sirah, Mourvedre, and Grenache.  No production notes, but the wine is said to have an aging potential of seven to nine years. The wine is described as a ruby red color offering notes of thyme, marjoram, oregano, crushed violets, and raspberry jam.  On the palate a medium-bodied wine with tones of tart cherry, boysenberry, cassis, and blueberry with secondary tones of black pepper, cumin, and chili powder with a savory and saline finish.

The last wine in the carton was Russell Joyce Winery Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands 2021.  The origins of this winery was when Russell’s father could set up his dentistry practice, and a race shop, as he competed as a professional race car driver as well, as the property was near the Laguna Seca raceway.  In 1986, he planted a small five-acre vineyard around the family home and Joyce Winery was created.  The fruit for this wine comes from the stewardship of Joe Alarid and his Tondre Grapefield which is SIP Certified.  There are four acres are planted to Syrah, which they contract for, on the well-drained gravelly loam soils.  The fruit is hand-harvest, and sixty percent undergoes whole-cluster Initial Fermentation with indigenous yeasts in small open-top temperature-controlled tanks.  Afterwards, the wine is aged on the lees for ten months in neutral French Oak, then racked to tanks and allowed to settle for one month prior to bottling, and it is bottled unfined and unfiltered.  The wine is described as offering notes of chocolate covered cherry, cooked cranberry, with violets, and vanilla.  On the palate tones of fresh raspberry, fresh blackberry, black tea, and dried pine needles.