2017 Chesebro, Grenache, CM Ranch – Estate Vineyard, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County.
Chesebro has released a new set of cellar aged wines, including an estate CM Ranch Carmel Valley Syrah and this beautifully pure 2017 CM Ranch Carmel Valley Grenache, which sports a deep garnet/crimson hue in the glass and has loads of personality, varietal character and a surprising amount of grip in a modest alcohol version of this grape. The medium, but plummy rich, bodied palate learns on a core of mountain red berry fruits with boysenberry, huckleberry and marionberry leading the way with some wild plum, currant and strawberry as well, along with hints of peppercorns, morrel mushroom, cedary notes, chalky stones, minty sage, anise and very delicate floral essences. This wine takes its time to unwind in the glass and gets deeper and creamier texturally with air and is much better with food, much in the same way a good Pinot Noir does. This Grenache, grown on crumby rocky ancient sea bed soils, was 100% de-stemmed and crushed with extra care taken, as tannin management is an important issue, given the intensity of this unique site and it saw an extended barrel aging regime. Winemaker Mark Chesebro believes his wines need a good amount of time to show their best and bottle aging is a necessity for this Rhône inspired Grenache, so it got closer to 24 months in bottle, patiently waiting to be enjoyed, and I will not argue that, as the results speak to that very clearly. Only a few barrels were made and the estate CM Ranch Carmel Valley series are limited, many for their mailing list and tasting room.
Mark Chesebro, the ex Bernardus winemaker, who started his own label back in about 2005 around his small Carmel Valley estate, which has a collection of Rhône varietals, including Grenache, as seen here, Syrah, Roussanne and Mourvèdre. He and his son Will, also a fine winemaker, who has joined the family winery full-time also have the Cedar Lane Vineyard in Arroyo Seco, which has an interesting mix of grapes, including Albariño, Vermentino, Pinot Noir and most famously its aromatic Musque clone Sauvignon Blanc. The Chesebro wines have long honest workman like offerings that are authentic, as mentioned, raw and pure to a fault. The whites mostly noted for being clean stainless steel raised and vibrant, except for the Roussanne, which done in barrel and see a long bottle aging in the cellar. As for the reds they are mainly carefully sorted and all de-stemmed to be mindful of the already tannic nature of these hillside and small yielding vines, even the Grenache. After primary fermentations the reds are aged exclusively in well used French barrels, with just a few new Italian made oak Gamba barrels cycled in as Mark finds them wonderfully matched to his wines. Chesebro, along with his sons, does a series of value priced wines under the Cedar Lane Vineyard label including Syrah, Grenache, Vermentino, Gamay, Albariño, Pinot Noir, and the noted Musque clone Sauvignon Blanc, along with this set of CM Ranch Carmel Valley home estate grown white and red Rhône single varietal wines, like this Grenache and unique blends. I again, highly encourage those visiting the region to be sure to check out Chesebro.
($38 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive