This 2022 Monroy Wines Cabernet Sauvignon hails from Kick Ranch, a 40-acre vineyard on the western slope of Spring Mountain in the Mayacamas Mountains, within the Fountaingrove District of Sonoma, where vines grow in iron-rich soils—and that mineral quality remains evident, even with the riper fruit character brought on by the warmer vintage. The oak is a bit more pronounced in 2022, yet the palate is utterly charming, leaning into dark fruit tones of black raspberry, balsamic strawberry, dark chocolate, and cherry. It’s more fruit-driven and less earthy than the 2021, but equally joyful to drink, with fine, powdery tannins that build a bit with some grip but land softly through a graceful finish. A very nice wine from the challenging 2022 vintage from Adolfo Hernandez who explained his background and winemaking style to me as follows: “I was the enologist and then assistant winemaker at Eisele Vineyard, splitting my time—two years each—between the Araujos and Château Latour. From there, I spent a year with Martha McClellan at Checkerboard, where we also made her gorgeous Levy & McClellan wines. In 2017, I started as associate winemaker at Benovia in the Russian River Valley with Mike Sullivan, where I’m happily still working today. I now make Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for Benovia while also producing wines under my own Monroy label. I focus on crafting cooler-climate style Cabernet Sauvignon that emphasizes floral and savory notes. All fermentations are done in barrel via closed-head rolling macerations, which I cooper myself. Barrel fermentation gives richness and density to the wines without the need to blend or harvest riper, more bombastic components, and naturally keeps the alcohol levels at or below 14%. I use only French oak, typically around 40% new.”
