2023 Vincent Vines, Merlot, Estate Grown, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County.
A new label and wine, just hitting the local Carmel Valley wine scene is this Vincent Vines Merlot from the cool 2023 vintage which I got to sample earlier this month and found to be an attractive medium bodied wine that delivers smooth and bright layers of dark berries, hints of loam, spice, cedar and mocha notes with subtle oak and floral elements. The year’s very cool season seems to have given this wine a vibrant juiciness that has somewhat hidden the deeper personality here, as this Merlot got 20 times better and more compelling on day two, letting in more depth and richness of detail, without any harsh tannin, and it was more entertaining with a meaty meal. This is a wine that first impressions might just fool you, it is not as simple as its first sip would suggest and I will find it interesting to see how a few years of bottle age does to this tiny production Merlot, from vines in the deeper end of Carmel Valley, where wine growing first took hold in the late 1960s. Merlot is one of the favored varietals of Carmel Valley, with Georis, the Château Christina (Joyce) and the original Durney Vineyard doing classic versions of this grape, which gained a solid fan base.
The Carmel Valley Vintners Collective winery and the Vincent Vines Merlot began as a garagistes project, with grapes from the tiny parcel of vines that were planted in May 2016. The winery says that the label pays homage to the great impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh’s iconic self portrait, Vincent Vines is an abstract wordplay for “wine of a hundred vines” and the estate’s small size. This Cachagua vineyard has just 257 vines that are, as the winery adds, all sustainably and organically farmed, with all work from tending to harvesting done by hand. They also explain that initial three vintages, benefiting from Cachagua’s Bordeaux-like climate are old world inspired efforts, which definitely shows in this dark garnet Merlot that comes in at 13.4% natural alcohol. The winemaking here was minimalist in nature and saw traditional de-stemming, a cool maceration and fermentation, after which the wine was pressed to Bordeaux style, mostly used, French oak where it aged about 12 months before bottling, all to give the wine its terroir influence and transparency. The Vincent Vines lineup also includes a Cabernet Sauvignon that was sourced from their neighbors property, Joullian Vineyards, that I hope to try soon.
($55 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive