Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
One of the winery's most celebrated releases each year, this blend of all five major Bordeaux red varieties is an excellent showcase of Carmel Valley's class. Freshly squeezed blackberry and blackcurrant fruit meet with beef char, charcoal and dried lilacs on the nose. The palate tastes of lava rocks, dark chocolate, fresh boysenberries, dried mint and beef jerky, all woven together with a touch of smoke.
Editors' Choice -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2012 Marinus is the estates Bordeaux release and is comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. This ruby colored effort offers a deep, layered, supple style to go with impressive notes of red and black currants, bay leaf, olives, and cedary spice. It's ripe, medium to full-bodied, has a stacked mid-palate, building tannin and a great finish. It's certainly an outstanding wine and I suspect will see its 20th birthday in fine form.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Extending east from the quaint seaside town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Carmel Valley’s western vineyards produce cool climate varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot noir while its warmer, eastern end, does well with heat-loving varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Sirah.