Winemaker Notes
With this vintage we’ve gone a little heavier on the Vermentino bit and the results are spectacular: There is the delicate suggestion of white flowers and of course the quality that Vermentino brings, which the French call balsamique (or resinous). But what really stands out is the absolutely intense pear-like fragrance (and of course) the wine’s exemplary length and persistence.
Blend: 60% Vermentino, 40% Grenache Blanc
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Nearly crystal clear in the glass, this blend of 60% Vermentino and 40% Grenache Blanc is very aromatic with poached pear, jasmine and gardenia on the tropical-leaning nose. More of those floral and pear flavors meet with coconut on the palate.
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
Named after the dramatic, seasonal river of rain and snowmelt that cuts through the upper elevations of the Santa Lucia Mountains, the Arroyo Seco AVA extends east from the resultant mountain gorge, and into the rural and warm Salinas Valley. During the growing season, cool and damp Pacific Ocean air penetrates the gorge and flows into the valley, creating a cool evening respite for vineyards after a hot summer day. This natural water-release has also created a subterranean aquifer, which helps set the foundation of the AVA's boundaries and supplies the vineyards with water.
Arroyo Seco was actually home to the first commercial vineyard in California, called Mission Ranch, which was owned and propogated by the Mirassou family in the 1960s.
Chardonnay is most widely grown here. But as one of Monterey’s warmer regions, Arroyo Seco enjoys the highest praise for its reds, namely Bordeaux blends.
Arroyo Seco is one of the oldest AVAs in California, its status granted in the early 1980s, and also remains one of its smallest.