Team C&J
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When we learned that Sal was a one-man show down here in the Valley, we couldn’t wait to try his wines and learn how he does all of this himself.
Winemaker Sal Rombi has a unique predicament with his Rombi wines. He produces just 100 cases of wine a year on his one-and-a-third acre vineyard in Carmel Valley, but this extremely limited production is by design.
The demand exists for him to produce and sell more wine. In Carmel Valley especially, people know and love Sal and his wines. The problem is that winemaking is Sal’s retirement plan; it’s something he does for fun. So it’s kind of a double-edged sword that the wines are so well-liked by nearly everyone who tries them and that Rombi wines quickly sell out when they’re released.
In an interview with SFGate, Sal admitted as much when he said he “has to be careful not to overexpose his product because he isn’t sure he could keep up if demand got too high for his boutique wines. His future retirement is supposed to stay fun, not morph into a demanding job.”
For a winemaker, it’s a pretty good position to be in!
Sal’s vineyard is a smidge over an acre big, making it one of the smallest bonded vineyards in California. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were the first grapes planted, with 14 rows dedicated to the former and seven to the latter. Petit Sirah is a newer addition, and given the size of the vineyard, Sal was only able to allot 2 rows to these vines.
Sal describes his property this way. “Carmel Valley Vineyard is at the pinnacle of the Carmel Valley Appellation. Located atop the ridgeline at an elevation of 1,650 feet, its orientation captures cooling marine influences nightly. The vineyard is hand-tended with sustainable practices. The well-drained rocky soil creates balance vines with limited yields of superior fruit that produce exceptional wine.”
Because space is limited and because Sal does everything himself, there are no plans to expand right now. He likes to work with just a few varieties and do those varieties well.
What people love about Rombi wines, besides the fact that the wines are very good, is that Sal is a one-man show. He tends to the vineyard himself, does the hand pruning alone, the picking, crushes the grapes at Jack Galante’s property, and stores the juice in his garage. And, when that juice turns into wine, he bottles and labels it!
But Sal doesn’t stop there…
In addition to managing all of the complicated logistics involved in making and distributing wine, Sal and his partner Kathy also own and operate the tasting room – including pouring wine for customers. That means when you visit the Rombi tasting room in Carmel Valley, you actually get to interact with the winemaker himself. Sal is known to be a great storyteller, and he’s happy to get into the details of what goes on in the vineyard and the story behind each wine.
The Rombi Wines tasting room is a quaint space located off West Carmel Valley Rd, on One Center Street, in what is affectionately called “downtown Carmel Valley”.
If you stop by, you can sample the Cabernet he grows on his estate vineyard and also the Petit Sirah and Petit Verdot he sources from Napa Valley.
Wines in our tasting included:
Overall, the Rombi wines are excellent. Not just for a one-man show winemaker, but any winemaker. One wine that stood out was the 2016 Rombi Cabernet. This wine is just wild. This was the year that the Soberanes Fire ravaged the Valley. Most winemakers opted to take the loss, but not Rombi. He proceeded with the harvest, and as a result, the wines have a spectacular, smokey taste. I know this sounds odd, but give it a try. I know it’s not for everyone, but we loved it. It is like a good wine met a smokey, peaty scotch.
More than a few of the Rombi Wines Yelp reviews also mention the hard-to-describe palate on this wine, and everyone is just intrigued by it. If it’s on offer, ask for a pour.
The wine that was just truly exceptional was the 2018 Petit Verdot. We gave this 94 PTS and enjoyed a bottle since our visit, and this wine sings. Be sure to give it a try when you visit.
Sal keeps a few bottles from past vintages available for purchase for those that make the trek to the tasting room. There is a limit of two per customer, and these are only available to purchase on-site.
Previous vintages include:
If you want the complete Rombi wine experience, Sal and Kathy also rent out their guest house. The property has a lovely view of the vineyard and sits right in the valley.
The tasting room is open Friday-Sunday, or by appointment. Be sure you stop by if you’re wine tasting in Carmel Valley.
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