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Seabold Cellars, Monterey Pinot Noir

California, United States 2014 (750mL)
$25.00
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SommSelect

Seabold Cellars, Monterey Pinot Noir

We don’t consider ourselves “discounters.” Our mission is to find wines that maximize value-for-dollar, regardless of price point—which is really the opposite of being a discounter, when you think about it. However, if someone offers us a fantastic deal on something, we’re compelled to mention it.
Master Sommelier-turned-winemaker Chris Miller launched Seabold Cellars in 2014, with the mission of showcasing the Monterey Coast as a destination terroir for bright, tense, perfumed Pinot Noir of true ‘Burgundian’ dimensions. Now, you may be thinking: Lots of Californian producers throw around terms like ‘cool climate’ and ‘Burgundian,’ only to produce wines which don’t speak to either. Some do in fact hail from cool climates—they just don’t necessarily taste or feel like it. What’s inferred by the ‘cool-climate’ moniker is a wine of more modest weight, brighter acidity, and ample—not excessive—ripeness. Think of the progression of the average peach you buy in summertime: tart and hard to start, then there’s that brief window where ripeness and tanginess are in perfect harmony, then it’s on to the gooey/sweet phase. Chris is after that middle-of-the-cycle harmony, and believes that the “marginal” climate of coastal Monterey is the place to get it. Wanting to expose Seabold to a broader audience, he offered our subscribers this 2014 at a significant (yes, we’ll go ahead and say it) discount. The wine’s a great buy at its suggested retail price of $50, but at $25? A steal, and one that shines the spotlight on an under-appreciated sliver of California’s Central Coast.
Like many sommeliers, Chris Miller would eventually feel a strong pull toward the “production” side of the wine business. He started his professional career in finance, but a passion for wine landed him in Washington State, working as a sommelier in Seattle while also commuting to Walla Walla to work part-time in wineries. One of his early mentors was fellow Master Sommelier Greg Harrington, whose Gramercy Cellars wines have been featured here on SommSelect, and later, when he moved to Los Angeles to take over the acclaimed wine program at Spago Beverly Hills, he apprenticed at Santa Barbara icon Brewer-Clifton on the side. With the launch of Seabold, after more than a decade of making wine ‘on the side,’ he traded in his suit and tie for jeans and boots to concentrate on it full-time.

Chris is a big believer in Monterey and its unique microclimate, in which cold Pacific wind currents are channeled by the Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountain ranges. This creates dramatic day-night temperature swings that lengthen the growing season and allow for slow, even ripening, which of course is the key to balance when growing the delicate, early-ripening Pinot Noir. Today’s 2014 is a “composite” of two Monterey County vineyards: One site, called Pelio, is in Carmel on a windswept perch at 1,000 feet elevation, just six miles from the ocean. It’s part of an uplifted seabed, with average temperatures during the growing season that clock in lower than those in Chablis; once somewhat unknown, it’s a site that has been discovered by other producers besides Chris and is likely to become a well-known vineyard designation in the years to come. The second source for this ’14 is the Paraiso Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands, which includes one of the oldest blocks of Pinot Noir on the Central Coast.

Effectively a “debut” wine for Seabold, this 2014, aged in a mix of new/used barrels and tank, exemplifies Chris’ quest for a wine that truly reflects its extreme coastal origins, where grapes are “just on the precipice of ripening.” In the glass, it’s a medium, reflective ruby-red with pink and garnet highlights at the rim, with aromas of black and red cherry, wild berries, blood orange peel, wet rose petals, warm spices, and a hint of black tea. It is medium-bodied and silky smooth, with a slight hint of salinity to its texture and plenty of acidity to keep it lifted and refreshing. Tasting it, I’m reminded not just of the Sonoma Coast but of certain Mendocino wines as well—it’s a supple, ethereal style well-suited for near-term drinking, and it goes without saying that it over-delivers exponentially at this price. Enjoy it over the next few years at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems, paired with the attached soy-glazed salmon preparation. That’s staying true to place all the way. Cheers!
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Country
United States
Region
California
Sub-Region
United StatesCarmel Valley / Santa Lucia Highlands (Monterey)
Soil
Loam & Marine Sediment
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Pinot Noir 100%
Alcohol
14.0
OAK
New & Used French
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now
Decanting
Optional
Pairing
Soy-Glazed Salmon

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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