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I. Brand & Family, “Monte Bello Road” Cabernet Sauvignon

California, United States 2014 (750mL)
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

I. Brand & Family, “Monte Bello Road” Cabernet Sauvignon

For those who were lucky enough to grab I. Brand & Family’s mesmerizing Mourvèdre a while back—as well as for those who missed it—get ready for another small-production gem from this talented young winemaker: This is a classic, cool-climate Cabernet hailing from the famous ridge high up in the Santa Cruz Mountains—a mere 211 cases were produced and we were thrilled to receive a tiny fraction.
In an interview with Edible Monterey Bay, winemaker Ian Brand and his wife and partner, Heather, had this to say about their micro-production, single-site wines: “Outside of local sommeliers and the restaurant community, we haven’t taken time to showcase what we’re doing here.” Well, this is SommSelect doing some showcasing—and it’s my favorite I. Brand wine yet. To me, Ian is a vineyard hunter first and a winemaker second. He has studied the lands around here for over a decade, searching for a deep relationship between grape and place. This is one of the truest, unmasked expressions of California Cabernet I’ve come across in quite some time and if I had to compare it to something, I’d say it drinks like a rich and modern Second Growth Bordeaux that has the ability to age gracefully like those of Ridge. Excluding their quaint tasting room in Carmel Valley, you’ll be hard-pressed to find this micro-production wine elsewhere, so be sure not to miss it here!
If there’s unique source material to be had in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and the surrounding areas, chances are Ian Brand has traversed the grounds and studied the grapes, the climate, the soils; every aspect imaginable. As quoted on their website: “This is farm land, desolate hills, and solitude. What we do is simple, without artifice, and we enjoy it.” Last year, we offered a vibrant, Monterey-sourced Albariño under his La Marea label and, more recently, he’s launched a series of single-vineyard bottlings from iconic vineyards under the I. Brand & Family moniker (like his aforementioned Mourvèdre and today’s Cabernet). These days, Ian stays busy, producing wine for a dozen different labels, while managing three of his own, but these site-specific wines under his I. Brand & Family label are, without a doubt, the standouts.

Monte Bello’s close proximity to the Pacific Ocean coupled with an elevation surpassing 2,000 feet makes this parcel of land a proverbial Shangri-La. It is atop this high-altitude ridge within the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA where Cabernet finds itself in one of California’s coolest climates. Unlike Napa, the well-drained soils here are mostly loamy with a limestone substrate—more similar to those of Bordeaux. With its high elevation and warm growing season, the diurnal swings are immense and allow for a rich, voluptuous wine with an invigorating level of acidity. In a custom crush facility back in Salinas, the wine was vinified in small batches and sat on its lees for 22 months in 10% new French oak before resting an additional year in bottle.

In the glass, Brand’s 2014 “Monte Bello Road” Cabernet displays an opaque, dark garnet core moving to magenta highlights at the rim. It is plush but structured, offering more than a passing nod to some of the great terroirs of Bordeaux’s Left Bank. Heady aromas of kirsch, cassis, and red and black currant mingle with notes of graphite, freshly turned earth, tobacco, and ground espresso. For all of its richness and viscosity on the palate, there’s also freshness keeping the wine buoyant and energetic, and enough grip to suggest a few more years in the cellar. By all means, decant a bottle now about 45 minutes before serving in large Bordeaux stems at 60-65 degrees, but save a few for what I think will be its true peak in three to four years. This is a ‘main event’ bottle, deserving of an opulent, serious main course pairing: the cherry-rosemary sauce in the attached duck recipe should complement this wines push-pull of fruit and earth beautifully. Enjoy!
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Country
United States
Region
California
Sub-Region
United StatesSanta Cruz Mountains
Soil
Franciscan Loam & Limestone
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol
14.7
OAK
10% New French
TEMP.
60
Glassware
Bordeaux Stems
Drinking
Now-2022
Decanting
30 Minutes
Pairing
Roast Duck w/ Cherry-Rosemary Sauce

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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