Paso Robles Winery Visits

Tasted Wednesday, August 30, 2023 - Friday, September 1, 2023 by drwine2001 with 195 views

Flight 1 - Booker (6 Notes)

Flight 2 - Tablas Creek (7 Notes)

  • 2021 Tablas Creek Counoise

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    (8/30/2023)

    Dull light red. Light. Gently sweet blueberry, excellent acidity, some soil. Easygoing and pleasant.

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  • 2021 Tablas Creek Côtes de Tablas

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Adelaida District

    (8/30/2023)

    Dull light ruby. Light to medium weight. Slightly herbaceous, gentle ripe but not sweet fruit, good soil texture, moderate tannins. Needs a bit more time.

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  • 2021 Tablas Creek Mourvèdre

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Adelaida District

    (8/30/2023)

    Light ruby core. Funky nose. Light to medium bodied. More savory than fruit with typical tree bark, lots of earth, excellent acidity, and dry tannic finish. Probably better blended to ameliorate the structure.

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  • 2021 Tablas Creek Terret Noir

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Adelaida District

    (8/30/2023)

    Pale. Medium weight with a bit of sap. Slightly sweet, straightforward cherry fruit, good acidity, a thin layer of soil, and low tannins. Simple drinking like nouveau Beaujolais. This really shows why a blending grape like this cannot stand on its own.

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  • 2020 Tablas Creek Esprit de Tablas

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Adelaida District

    (8/30/2023)

    Clear ruby. Sweaty, tannic aromas. Medium weight, excellent concentration and sap. Blueberry fruit and some soil, average acidity but serious tannic backbone. Youthful but rich and promising.

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  • 2018 Tablas Creek Esprit de Tablas

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Adelaida District

    (8/30/2023)

    Lighter ruby. Fragrant with a touch of herbs. Rich but restrained blue fruit that flows really well. Excellent framing acidity and a dry, tannic finish. Really excellent but it needs 5+ years.

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  • 2020 Tablas Creek Le Complice

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Adelaida District

    (8/30/2023)

    Ruby. Floral and herbal aromas. Medium weight. Lively black fruit. Round and supple but it has a funny cigar smoke component that makes me wonder if it is smoke tainted.

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Flight 3 - Denner (4 Notes)

  • 2021 Denner Zinfandel

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    (8/31/2023)

    Clear bright ruby. Spicy, brambly red fruit. Medium weight. Black raspberry, citrus, spice, lively acidity and low tannins. Unusually fine Zinfandel that could use 1 or 2 years to resolve slight tartness.

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  • 2020 Denner The Ditch Digger

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Willow Creek District

    (8/31/2023)

    Clear purple/ruby. Wintergreen scents. Medium weight. Stony dark red fruit, high acidity, and moderate tannin. Elegant weight but neutral flavors that really don't excite. Despite having 33% whole cluster, it is hard to discern.

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  • 2020 Denner The Dirt Worshipper

    USA, California, Central Coast

    (8/31/2023)

    Gorgeous opaque purple. Real Syrah aromatics-blueberry, spice, herb, and florals. Big but not overwhelming. Lush dark red fruit attack, cocoa powder, slightly tart acidity, some cooler green notes, and round, serious tannins. Excellent and complex with soil arriving on the finish, outstanding cling and persistence. Should have at least a 10 year drinking window with its relatively early accessibility.

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  • 2020 Denner Mother of Exiles

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    (8/31/2023)

    Deep ruby. Blueberry and spicy oak nose with some herb. Medium to full body with sappy attack. Discretely ripe blue and red fruit and tobacco. The fruit stands up very well to the substantial wood. Excellent purity and length. Refined tannins that nevertheless do have some grip. I like the combination of richness and restraint.

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Flight 4 - Epoch (6 Notes)

  • 2018 Epoch Estate Wines Grenache York Mountain

    USA, California, Central Coast, York Mountain

    (8/31/2023)

    Ruby with slight fading. Pyrazine aromas. Medium bodied. Candied fruit, spice, briary, zesty acidity, and significant soil laced tannins. Elegant and fluid but with sneaky back end structure.

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  • 2019 Epoch Estate Wines Grenache York Mountain

    USA, California, Central Coast, York Mountain

    (8/31/2023)

    Deeper than the 2018. Thyme. Richer entry, darker fruited. Chewy and bigger than the older wine. Chewy and chocolatey but really nice spice as well. The tannins are drier and the finish shorter. Hard to say, but this still might have the better long term potential.

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  • 2019 Epoch Estate Wines Sensibility Paderewski Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    (8/31/2023)

    Licorice and anise. Fluid, medium weight, much more soil and less obvious fruit than the York Grenaches. Lots of green foliage and fennel. Fairly supple but lacks intensity. I didn't really care for the flavors here.

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  • 2018 Epoch Estate Wines Syrah York Mountain

    USA, California, Central Coast, York Mountain

    (8/31/2023)

    Opaque. All pine needles. Medium to full bodied. Intense, layered fruit entry. Quite sweet black and blue notes, ripe and furry tannins. This just about crosses the line of feeling syrupy, yet it is saved by some brambly structure and good acidity. Still to big and blurry for my liking. Amazingly open for such a big wine, and maybe it is meant to for early enjoyment if you like this style.

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  • 2019 Epoch Estate Wines Syrah York Mountain

    USA, California, Central Coast, York Mountain

    (8/31/2023)

    Also opaque color. Fragrant with more floral high tones than the 2018. Riper red fruit with uplifting citrus. More obvious acidity and drier tannins. I like the power and savory complexity and much preferred this to the prior vintage. This one needs time to unfold.

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  • 2019 Epoch Estate Wines Authenticity

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Willow Creek District

    (8/31/2023)

    Deep ruby/purple. Fennel on the nose. Medium + weight. Complex and stemmy, sterner structure than either of the York Syrahs. A little mid-palate texture, but overall, it has a thin, grainy feel. Puzzling wine from a riper vintage. Did not like this at all.

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Flight 5 - Villa Creek/MAHA (9 Notes)

  • 2021 Villa Creek Roussanne James Berry

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    (9/1/2023)

    Medium yellow. Pineapple. Medium to full body. Ripe but given interest by good acidity and a ton of soil. I have to give them a lot of credit for crafting a wine that retains so much freshness and avoids the oily texture that this varietal can sometimes have.

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  • 2021 Villa Creek This Way & That Way

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Willow Creek District

    (9/1/2023)

    Deep red. Medium to slightly lighter weight. Supple sweet red fruit, tangerine, dried herbs, good acidity, and lowish tannins. Very enjoyable now, showing much more Grenache varietal character than Mourvèdre structure although the blend is 50/50.

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  • 2010 Villa Creek High Road James Berry Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    (9/1/2023)

    Ruby. Wild aromas of pine and violet-a dead ringer for French Syrah. Fabulous mixed fruit with incredible depth. Bright, supple, and elegant with terrific inner mouth perfume. Long, soil-filled finish provides a drier contrast at the end and suggest that this still needs another few years to totally resolve. This was clearly outstanding and the most exciting wine we tried during our trip to Paso Robles.

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  • 2020 Villa Creek High Road James Berry Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    (9/1/2023)

    Purple/ruby color. More licorice and olive on the nose than the 2010. Rich, ripe blue fruit with excellent acidity, enlivening orange zest, and a layer of soil that persists through the roundly tannic finish. Outstanding, youthful, and promising. Bigger than the 2010, but still bright and lots of incipient complexity. This pair of wines was enormously impressive.

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  • 2011 Villa Creek Avenger

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    (9/1/2023)

    Ruby center with minimal fading at the rim. Fennel and black olive aromas. Medium to full bodied. Lush black and blue fruit with olive and soy complexity. Herbs, soil, and a leaner drying finish. This is also very French in style despite the fruit forward attack. Excellent.

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  • 2021 Villa Creek Avenger

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    (9/1/2023)

    Purple hued ruby. More fragrant and floral than the 2011. Medium weight. Here the fruit is brighter and leans toward red rather than black. Some savory tobacco leaf, soil, lower acidity and tannins than its older sib. Supple, ripe, and open, although I doubt it will age as well as its 2011 counterpart.

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  • 2020 MAHA Understory

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Adelaida District

    (9/1/2023)

    Medium ruby. Stemmy, green aromas. Medium weight. Discretely ripe red fruit, average acidity, low tannins, and a strong soil finish. Fluid and quite drinkable now but as complex as some of the other wines here.

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  • 2020 MAHA Backlit

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Adelaida District

    (9/1/2023)

    Dark ruby. Rounder, riper style. Chocolate richness, red fruit and pomegranate, light soil, and some finishing stemminess. Compared to the Villa Creek range we tasted, this is much more New World, warm climate wine.

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  • 2016 Villa Creek Neo-Noir

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    (9/1/2023)

    100% Grenache-based Banyuls style dessert wine. Red, tawny appearance. Funky nose. Very sweet and syrupy. Medium weight. Overripe, port-like sultana fruit, high acidity. A real curiosity.

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Flight 6 - Justin (2 Notes)

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