2024 Caraccioli, Passetoutgrain, Escolle Vineyard, Santa Lucía Highlands AVA, Monterey County.
The unique Passetoutgrain as Scott Caraccioli has told me before, is a co-fermentation of his Escolle estate Pinot Noir and Gamay Noir with all the grapes harvested on the same night and produced in a small batch with partial whole bunches, making for an expressive fruit forward medium bodied red wine with silky tannins, a touch of crunchy mineral and herbs as well as subtle wood framing. As in the past versions the vibrant ruby color in the glass invites you in and palate reveals vinous layers of black cherry, crushed strawberry, plum, Mission fig and raspberry fruit, with just a hint of Joly Rancher candy, the impression of sweet florals, red apple skin, garden herbs, cinnamon spice and orange peel. Nicely ripe and smoothly opulent, but still just about 12.5%, this wine is perfect for the Fall season and the start of chilly night cuisine time, going great with everything from burgers to turkey dinners with all the holiday fixings. Caraccioli has true Cru Beaujolais clone 358 at Escolle, rumored to be a special Morgon selection, and they blend that, somewhere close to 50% with clone 777 Pinot Noir, all set on the classic sandy loam soils and seeing the cool coastal climate influences here in the Santa Lucia Highlands. The winery in Gonzales is a mere five miles from the Escolle vineyard itself and is set up to process the grapes in the freshest possible way, which you can see in the bright fruit intensity, energy and purity in these wines.
Obviously, the Caraccioli label is most famous for their incredible grower producer Methode Champenoise sparkling wines, which are some of America’s finest examples, but they also do a wonderful selection of still wines, including this rarity Passetoutgrain, along with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and a 100% Gamay Noir bottling. The bubblies here sees an extended yeast aging and now range from Brut Rosé to Blanc de Blancs, with all of them being very dry and elegant offerings that really should not be missed. As noted here in prior reviews, true Passtoutgrain wines, from Burgundy, where this wine drew inspiration, are typically between 50% and 75% Pinot Noir and or 25% to 50% Gamay, as well as allowing a small percentage of white grapes, and remain just a curiosity to the wine world. They usually fly under the radar, but have seen a huge jump in quality in the last 15 to 20 years and are now made from some of the top Cote d’Or domaines, like Domaine Robert Chevillon, Domaine Taupenot-Merme, Domaine Jerome Chezeaux, Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet, Domaine Lafarge and Domaine Robert Groffier, to name a few to look for. Caraccioli and winemakers Chris and Greg Vita co-fermented this 50/50 blend in a small stainless steel tank and punched it down daily for the better part of two weeks to get the right amount of color and structure. Once dry, the wine was racked to a neutral French oak puncheon and aged for six months before bottling, all to preserve vibrancy and clarity, all resulting in this tasty and highly quaffable wine.
($45 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive