The Californian from Salinas, California • 25

March madness in the Highlands A Salinas star for Marilyn? LAURA NESS HerVineNess DAVE NORDSTRAND cigar, rhubarb, cranberry, brown sugar, rich bacon and roasted beets. Because the Super Bowl proved that everything goes better with dogs, I rate this a three-woof wine out of four woofs. OK, make that 312. Wrath offers the only Monterey jack cheese made in Monterey County (by Schoch Dairy) for purchase at the tasting room, to enjoy with your wine. After a splendid evening and endless repast at Mesa del Sol, we were fortified for a brilliant day of barrel tasting with David Coventry at Ray Franscioni's place.

We began with '09 pinot gris, an Alsatian style, rich with lime oil and coriander, green apple and melon. The Silver and Gold cap chardonnays are contrasts in style: Silver has no malolactic flavors and minimal oak. It sports peachy aromas, with crisp nectarine and apricot flavors. Dave said "ceviche." That seemed appropriate. The Gold chardonnay surges with toasty vanilla cream from 25 percent new French oak, then turns into a tropical fruit frolic, with a splashing finish of butterscotch.

Dave's 2010 Puma Road Vigna Monte Nero pinot noir appealed to our posse with its richness and roundness, with smoky vanilla aromas and flavors of black cherry, cranberry and tart loganberries, wrapped around attention-getting tannins. This wine would be best friends with grilled boar sausage or braised lamb shanks. The 2008 Pedregal mer-lot, though, is rockin' with chewy tart cherry, cocoa and acres of cracked pepper: what a nicely structured wine. The '06 See NESS, 7C The Santa Lucia Highlands looked glowingly green in the post-rain warm sunlight, and the daffies were singing the praises of spring everywhere as we'headed toward Mesa del Sol for another lost weekend in the cradle of the Arroyo Seco River. Despite the dearth of rainfall, I am thankful to report the river is still running in the shadows of the looming hills of the Ventana wilderness.

We grabbed our posse and headed to discover the treasures at Talbott and Wrath, then to venture into uncharted territory. We wanted to visit Hammond Vineyards, but the tasting room is now open on weekends only, as Reggie Hammond gets settled into his new digs at Chalone. The Talbott tasting room on River Road is welcoming and calming. It feels just right, like the wines. You cannot go wrong with Kali Hart chardonnay, made with 80 percent steel barrel time and 20 percent neutral French oak for texture and a hint of sweet vanilla.

Unsurprisingly, this was the overwhelming fave of my friend, Keith, who has a fondness for white wines, and will not tolerate too much acidity or not quite enough, preferring just that perfect kiss of fruit over stark minerality. Talbott is replanting about 40 acres worth of vines, 15 to pinot noir (mostly Dijon the "Boeing" clones, as my husband calls them 667 and 777), and 25 acres to three different clones of chardonnay. The Riesling is also being replanted to Dijon pinot clones. You can take a diverse set of palates to Talbott and everyone will go away happy. The 2010 Logan cherries.

Acrobatic balance! The '09 Diamond pinot tempts with cedar and currant, racingly vibrant acidity, huge wood and a smoky finish. This one is pretty tightly wound. A favorite of the group was the 2008 Cuvee RFT, now on its last cases, and available only at the River Road tasting room. Aged in 100 percent new French oak barrels, this one packs plenty of earth, mushrooms and roasted tomato into a lean, multi-layered wine that rewards decanting. Everyone went away happy.

Heading down River Road toward Wrath, the light pooling magically on expanses of brown furrows awaiting the next crop, and the searing greenness of those in progress, we marveled at the shadowy contours and forested crevices of the Santa Lucia Highlands. I wondered how many of the 5,000 acres of vines planted here are visible from the road. Grower Steve Mclntyre predicts vine acreage in the Highlands will max out at about 6,300, so it's well on its way. At Wrath we tasted through a good swath of the lineup: the 2010 Ex Anima chardonnay is a luscious pineapple guava fruit bomb, unencumbered by oak. It's hands down my fave.

The 2009 115667 pinot stands up to its cloak of 45 percent new French oak with flavors of strawberry wrapped in tasty ginger biscuit, while the Pommard 477 pinot tells tales of forest floor, roasted chestnuts and staunch minerality. The '09 Ex Vite is brightly laced with cranberry, pomegranate and cherry, the pure soul of the fruit. My top pick continues to be the '09 Tondre pinot, redolent of The subject of Marilyn Monroe and her ties to Salinas came up again when a friend snowed me a new acquisition. It was a framed, and famed, photo of Monroe destined for my friend's hallway wall. It's the shot in which Monroe tries to hold down her skirt as a blast of air from a sidewalk grate aims to blow it over her head.

The photo reminded me of another shot I'd once seen of Monroe. Only this was a glossy black-and-white taken in 1948 in the former Carlyle's Jewelers, then at 362 Main St. in Salinas. Monroe is a Hollywood legend, of course, and even her brief Salinas stopover is an excuse to revisit the subject. Diamond promotion In 1948, she arrived in town and checked into what was then the Jeffery Hotel, 269 Main St.

She was here to help with a diamond promotion for Carlyle's and was billed as the "Diamond Queen of Salinas." Monroe showed up as a sub for another actress. The photo shows Monroe, a woman with platinum hair and a dazzling smile, standing behind the store counter. Customers squeezed in to glimpse a genuine "starlet" and maybe to buy a diamond. Flowers pinned to the lapel of her dark suit, Monroe chatted with patrons and autographed publicity photos. turns out to be a lovely middle-earth chardonnay, with 80 percent fermented in French oak and 20 percent stainless to add that lovely fresh fruit juiciness.

Its delicate weave of lavender, wet river rock and slightly tropical nuances charm you from the outset, and the finish of bright apricots and persistent acidity reverberates forever. Fans of French oak will kneel reverently at the shrine of the '10 Sleepy Hollow chardonnay, with its French bakery aromas of brioche and apricot pastry with a sweet icing. It's loaded with toasted almonds, ripe apple and grapefruit skin. And then there's the 2009 Diamond stacked like a stone fence with acres of minerality and an oiliness that grabs your attention. The 2009 Cuvee Audrey, named for Robb Talbott's mom, is lavish with' tropical fruit, and finishes with toasted banana bread.

What a vintage 2009 is in the Talbott pinot depart- ment, beginning with the '09 Kali Hart -pure rhubarb pie followed by the 2009 Logan pinot, which comes on with blackberries, blueberries, cherries jubilee, soy and grilled portabella mushrooms: definitely has that forest-earth component. Svelte and elegant, the 2009 Sleepy Hollow pinot charms with aromas of strawberry jam, bursting with flavors of raspberry-filled linzer torte and bing Valley Views She'd been relaxing in Palm Springs when she'd gotten the call to come to Salinas. The desert sun had slightly reddened her perfect nose, which was peeling a bit. I saw the photo of her in Carlyle's in 1998, the year the store closed, but don't know what happened to it. During her stay, Monroe also served as queen of the Artichoke Festival, for which she wore a rhinestone tiara.

Later in life, when she'd become a movie star, rumor was that she and husband Joe DiMag-gio stopped for the night while passing through Salinas. They checked into what once was the Santa Lucia Inn on North Main Street, a place with cognac, Peking duck and other fine items on the menu. Peking duck or not, Monroe has proven ties to Salinas. Maybe we ought to put a star on the sidewalk in front of 362 Main St. as a reminder of her visit.

Davetfordstrandisa staff writer for The Salinas Californian His column appears Wednesday and Saturday in Central Coast Living. Contact him at dnordstrandthe californian.com..