43
i enjoy when people from California vist me in my office at Avalon golf and Country Club. It has happened more and more over the last two years as our wine program has grown and our Wine Academy series has become a staple in the Valley wine community.
I enjoyed meeting and tasting Monticello Vineyard's Stephen Corley a couple of weeks ago. Corley's family has owned and operated Monticello for several decades with a laser like focus on quality and varietal correctness. Corely serves as the winery's Director of Sales and Marketing. He took me through an outstanding tasting of their impressive portfolio.
Corely's brother Chris serves as the Winemaker and I really enjoyed tasting through an excellent lineup of wines.
All of the Monticello Vineyards wines are estate grown. Here's a look at what we tasted:
2013 Monticello Vineyards Chardonnay - Oak Knoll District
Expressive aromas of apple, pear, fig, hints of butterscotch and vanilla. On the palate, the wine is rich, yet restrained with a striking, full texture. Its full-bodied creaminess maintains a steady beam of brightness through the middle to keep it focused and alive all the way to the finish. This wine will benefit from being served slightly chilled, and will age gracefully. Drink now through 2018.
2012 Monticello Vineyards Pinot Noir - Oak Knoll District
The wine has expressive, ripe aromas of raspberry, cola and cinnamon. On the palate, the medium to full-bodied attributes deliver savory ripe tannins as a framework for the graceful, age worthy structure. Flavors of ripe berries and darker fruit invitingly inter- twine with the medium toasty oak tones. The finish is lingering and rich. Drink Now through 2020.
2012 Monticello Vineyards Merlot - Oak Knoll DistrictThis wine displays a stunning garnet appearance. Aromas of fully ripened red berry tones intermingle with an appealing ray of lightly toasted oak, slight spice and vanilla. The palate has a full bodied modest attack from front to finish with a well-rounded tex- ture on the midpalate and a long soft finale that expresses just a hint of tannin. Drink now through 2025.
2012 Monticello Vineyards Syrah - Oak Knoll District
The deep, inky color is your first sign that this is a powerful wine. The nose offers basket loads of dark berry fruit, lightly toasted oak and hints of vanilla. On the palate, the wine bursts with an acutely layered texture and medium grain tannins. Intense flavors align with the nose for a bold, memorable finish. Drink now through 2025.
2012 Monticello Vineyards "Jefferson Cuvee" Cabernet - Napa Valley
The wine reveals a deeply tinted, dark garnet color. The expressive aromas offer black- berry, mocha, coffee and lightly toasted oak. A full entry on the palate delivers a juicy core with moderate tannins and a lingering finish. Ebullient flavors stay in sync with the nose, echoing dark berries and mocha tones from start to end. Drink now through 2026.
The Monticello portfolio offers quality accross the board. I was especially impressed by the Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Jefferson Cuvee Cabernet. Valley wine lovers can look forward to a great event featuring Stephen Corley at the new Avalon Inn and Resort sometime in the near future.
The wines are available on some of the better local restaurant wine lists and some independent wine shops. If you can't find them, just ask your retailer to order them for you through Purple Feet Distributing. I hope you enjoy the Monticello wines as much as I did!
Subscribe Today
Sign up for our email newsletter to receive daily news.
Want more? Click here to subscribe to either the Print or Digital Editions.