Leal Estate Vineyards

Owner Frank Léal and winemaker Dave Griffith set up shop in the foothills of Central Coast’s Hollister in 1998, working around the clock to set up a 45-acre parcel with Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre vines. “Griff” sources oak from France, America, Hungary, Russia and China, incorporates various yeast strains to give more complexity to the wines, and bottles most of the Léal releases without filtration.

While San Benito has wide variations in elevation and soil types, it is, overall, a moderately warm growing climate giving wines with lavishly ripe fruit, with the high-elevation limestone-imbued Calera (Mount Harlan AVA) as a notable exception. Cooling breezes and fog from nearby Monterey Bay help to mitigate the heat and provide for a longer than normal growing season.

This warmer-origin Merlot does lose some of its structure and classic varietal markers that would be found in cooler areas such as Bordeaux or parts of the North Coast. Moderately saturated ruby with ripe strawberry cobbler, boysenberry, dark currant, framboise, and smoky notes, this opulent wine is creamy and silky with sweet ripe fruit and spicy oak.

Reviewed November 7, 2006 by Catherine Fallis.