Oliver McCrum wrote:Carl,
Perhaps I should have been more specific. Twenty years ago in Monterey and Santa Barbara counties there were a number of Cabernets that were overwhelmingly vegetal, principally because they were planted in the wrong place. I don't know about Monterey now, but SBC has certainly figured out where to plant Bordeaux varieties so they taste good.
Oliver is totally on target here.
Case in point:
Bill Jekel started a vineyard in what is now the Arroyo Seco AVA, mid-Salinas Valley in Monterey. He planted Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet. The cool climate varieties were hits right from the start. The Cabernet got some acclaim, but it never took off commercially in the US---primarily because it was the wrong variety in the wrong place. What was perfect for Chardonnay and even Riesling was too damned cold and windy for Cabernet.
The Jekel Cabernet was a big hit in some vintages, but most vintages showed waaaay too much vegetal quality. The best market for the Cab, at that time, was the UK, which seemed to like that veggie, St. Estephe kind of style. But in the US, not so. (In hindsight, we discovered, the wines did tend to age pretty well; but they took years and years to soften and come around).
Years later, Jekel secured a long-term lease for another vineyard about three and a half miles away. It was a very particular location, in a palisaded canyon from 40 to 100 feet deep, cut by the Arroyo Seco River into soft sandy soil with up to 70% rock from a prehistoric alluviated riverbed that went down about 200 feet (that's as deep as they drilled, and they were still finding river rock). The site was protected from the notorious Monterey/Salinas Valley winds, was sitting on rapid draining soil, and was a good 12 degrees ambient temperature warmer than the original vineyards up on the main valley bench. There, Jekel put in about 180 acres of single vineyard plantings of all five Bordeaux blend grapes.
Made all the difference in the world. No more instant V-8 Cabernet. The meritage blends became quite lovely, rich, yet sophisticated too.
Another success story would be the rapid shift over to Syrah in the southern part of the valley (think the Delicato family, and others). Yet another would be the development of the Hames Valley for Cabernet/Merlot, for the Hames Valley is a 'closed valley' (no access to the oceans as it is hemmed in by the coastal range). Hotter, more suited to the Bordeaux varieties than the cool climate varieties; actually it is closer to the Paso Robles to the south than it is the Salinas/Monterey to the north.
We could say some of the same things about the learning trials over in Carmel too.
So, yes, Monterey has made tremendous strides in putting the proper varieties in the best possible places.