BERNARDUS
2014 MARINUS
CARMEL VALLEY
Designed for flattering your senses while simultaneously stimulating thoughts of Bordeaux and the serene Carmel Valley, Marinus is Bernardus’s proprietor’s instrument to achieve their goal of producing a red wine that can equal Bordeaux’s most refined. Maestro of sustainable farming, Mark Shea farms each block of Marinus separately, without compromise, in his pursuit of showcasing the vineyard’s most significant potential. The 2014 vintage is, as Vinous writes, “Highly Expressive,” and with a discount of $26 per bottle, a single case may not be enough.
French-trained winemaker Dean DeKorth spent years at Olivier Leflaive, Comte Lafon, and Pierre Morey before coming home to Monterey and making wine at Morgan, David Bruce, and Talbott. He creates Marinus using Bordeaux varietals; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot, blending them with the impetus to be the best expression of the vineyard’s remarkable terroir.
Dean employs traditional Bordeaux winemaking techniques like; fermenting in small individual fermenters, gentle pressing and handling of the fruit, long fermentation with regular punch-downs, and aging in French oak barrels. The resulting wine is very complex, well-balanced, a joy to drink, with a Bordeaux-like style.
BERNARDUS
2014 MARINUS
CARMEL VALLEY
Retails at: $75
Your Price: $49
“Opaque ruby. Highly expressive aromas of ripe cherry, red and black currant, candied flowers and pipe tobacco, along with vanilla and oak spice nuances. Sweet and expansive in the mouth, offering concentrated cassis, cherry-vanilla and licorice flavors that show no rough edges. Closes very long and spicy, with a hint of smokiness and rounded, even tannins that add gentle grip.”
93 Points
“Candied lilac and boysenberry-juice aromas make for a very fresh, floral and fruity entry to the nose of this blend of all five Bordeaux red varieties. The purple-flower flavors show on the sip too, mixed with açai, and the structure is still tightly woven six years into aging.”
92 Points, Editors’ Choice
