A day in Paso (Denner, Tablas Creek, Graves ...)

Tasted Monday, August 2, 2010 by grafstrb with 776 views

Flight 1 - Saucelito Canyon (5 Notes)

We stopped by Saucelito Canyon on our way from Lompoc to Paso Robles. I really enjoyed the two white wines here, but thought they were a bit too expensive to merit a purchase.

Flight 2 (8 Notes)

This was our main stop of the day. Hilary Graves, owner of and winemaker for the Graves Winegrowers label, arranged a tasting for us at the Denner facility. The tasing was of Hilary's wines, and she also invited Amy Butler (winemaker/visionary behind the Ranchero Cellars label) as well as Anthony Yount (winemaker for Denner as well as his own label, Kinero) to join us. So, this was a really neat three-in-one tasting, of sorts, where all of us tasted through and discussed wines from each of the 3 labels together. Tasting with one winemaker is always fun for me because I get to "geek out" a little bit -- tasting with three, I found out, can be loads of entertaining! Tasting with Hilary, Amy, and Anthony was a blast - they each have their own opinions and viewpoints, which made for very interesting discussion. This was my first time tasting Anthony's "Kinero" wines and also my first time tasting Amy's "Ranchero Cellars" wines -- I was very impressed with both, and really dig Anthony's use of 500mL bottles for his two whites. The Graves wines were impressive, as usual, but showing more tannic than previous tastings and bottles -- this may have been because they were popped and poured at our tasting, and the bottles still had a cellar chill on them, making them perhaps a few degrees cooler than ideal for serving.

  • 2009 Ranchero Cellars Grenache Blanc La Vista Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––

    Nearly colorless. Powdery florals on the nose. Medium-light bodied with strong minerality on the finish; crisp acidity. Very well-done, but kind of pricey at $28.

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  • 2009 Kinero Grenache Blanc Alice Blackseth Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––

    Nearly colorless. Enjoyable banana tropics and soapy florals on the nose; medium bodied with a slightly oily mouthfeel; pointed tropical fruits on the forefront of the palate with a hint of background minerality. Very nice.

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  • 2009 Kinero Roussanne Rustler James Berry Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––
    -- 100% Roussanne ––

    Tight nose, giving up slight woodsy spice and a hint of banana leaf. Medium-light bodied. Palate is loaded with musky spices, gingerbread, and cinnamon; strikes me a bit like a Belgian tripel –– they have similar aromatics/flavors on their respective finishes. More fruit-forward than other Roussannes I’’ve had. 2/3 new oak; oak used was 2/3 French and 1/3 Hungarian. James Berry fruit.

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  • 2008 Ranchero Cellars Carignane Old Vines

    USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––

    Dark color of great depth. Sauvage nose, with slight motor oil. Medium-full bodied with strong tannic bite. Very S. Rhone styled; dark fruits; leather. Very well done, and a good value at $28. Needs a year or two.

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  • 2007 Graves Mourvèdre Ohana Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––

    Purple color of great depth. Rich aromatics on the nose: spicy –– black pepper, purple fruits, hints of flowers. Full bodied and tannic. Very ripe flavors; spices; a tad meaty; slightly gamey; full palate. My favorite of the Graves lineup today.

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  • 2006 Graves The Trim Stinger Ohana Vineyard

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––
    -- 98% Grenache, 2% Syrah ––

    Rustic mahogany color. Expressive spice-box aromatics mixed with loganberries on the nose. Medium-full bodied with dark fruit flavors; a very big wine; tannic; not as exciting as a bottle we had earlier this year.

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  • 2006 Graves Rock Candy

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––
    -- 40% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre ––

    Garnet-purple color of great depth. Sweet red fruits on the nose: red cherry, some spices. Full bodied and tannic. Loads of blackberries, tanned leather, and a bit of spiky alcohol on the palate. Ashley’s favorite of the Graves lineup today.

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  • 2006 Graves Syrah Superfino Goloso

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––

    Purple color of great depth. Nose is simple: sweet, leaning towards darker fruits. Smooth on the palate, with dark fruits (blackberries) and a touchy spicy; fine-grained tannins.

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Flight 3 (5 Notes)

After our big Graves/Kinero/Ranchero Cellars tasting, we headed upstairs to taste through Denner's current lineup. I was especially impressed with the '08 "Theresea," which is usually my least favorite of Denner's lineup (except for the gloppy Zinfandel). The blend of varieties in the "Theresea" has changed over the past couple years: iirc, it used to be a Roussanne/Marsanne blend; now, Grenache Blanc and Viognier are included as well, and I think their inclusion makes it a much better wine. The Viognier and Syrah were a bit "ho-hum" for me at this tasting, and the '08 DitchDigger is obviously a step or two below prior vintages. The Mourvedre, at least, continues to be a mesmerzing interpretation of the grape as it retains its top spot on my list of favorite CA Mourvedres.

  • 2009 Denner Theresa

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––
    – 50% Roussanne, 18% Grenache Blanc, 17% Marsanne, 15% Viognier –

    Moderately expressive nose of stone fruits and fresh flowers. Medium-light bodied. Viognier presence is quite apparent; peach; juicy acidity; much better than previous vintages, imo.

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  • 2009 Denner Viognier

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––

    Moderately expressive nose features apricot aromas. Medium bodied with typical Viognier flavors on the palate.

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  • 2007 Denner Syrah

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––
    -- 90% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre –

    Expressive jammy red fruits on the nose, which lead into a medium-full bodied palate of slightly muddled warm-climate syrah flavors; alcohol is a bit spiky.

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  • 2007 Denner Mourvèdre

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––

    Dark fruits, tobacco, and earth on the nose. Full palate; dark fruits; spicy; coffee. Continues to be my favorite of the Denner lineup.

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  • 2008 Denner The Ditch Digger

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––
    – 40% Grenache, 33% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre, 7% Cinsault –

    Smooth red fruits. A bit sweet, and somewhat loosely structured. I prefer the three prior vintages over this one.

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Flight 4 (8 Notes)

After concluding a nice picnic lunch at Pasolivo, we ventured to Tablas Creek for our final tasting of the day. The lineup was solid-as-usual at Tablas, but the end of this tasting would hold a real treat for us. Earlier in the day, the Tablas tasting staff opened and decanted an '07 Panoplie in anticipation of a private tasting (won at a charity auction) that was scheduled for that afternoon. As it turned out, by the time we strolled into the tasting room at 3:30, that group had called to cancel their appointment. This left that '07 Panoplie just sitting in the decanter with nowhere to go. After brief consideration of whether we were going to buy a bottle or two of the Panoplie (without tasting it) the tasting room attendant mentioned the cancellation and offerred us a taste. We gladly accepted the offer, especially because this wine would, under all other circumstances, never be available for tasting at the tasting room. Immediately after sniffing the wine, I told the attendant "Good business decision to give us a taste of this" -- I was literally floored, and any qualms I may have had about purchasing a bottle or two were long long long long gone! Words hardly do that wine justice.

  • 2008 Tablas Creek Roussanne

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––

    Nose is very tight, barely giving-up anything. Medium bodied and slightly oily on the palate. Minerals and lanolin on the palate; a bit alcoholic.

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  • 2008 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––
    – 65% Roussanne, 30% Grenache Blanc, 5% Picpoul Blanc –

    Expressive aromatics – strong sense of warm, ripe oxidizing apple. Medium-light bodied. Good embedded minerality; banana leaf; complex; faintly spicy.

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  • 2008 Tablas Creek Côtes de Tablas

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––

    Strawberry jam; good minerality; grippy tannins; simple.

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  • 2007 Tablas Creek Grenache

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––
    – 90% Grenache, 10% Syrah –

    Nose is mostly strawberry, with a hint of leafiness. Medium bodied. On the palate: strawberry jam, slightly earthy, cement. Tannic.

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  • 2006 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––
    – 45% Mourvedre, 28% Grenache, 22% Syrah, 5% Counoise –

    Lots of red fruits and a hint of leather on the nose. Medium-full bodied. Smooth on the palate, with sweet red fruit flavors; tannic on the finish. A bit sweeter than I prefer, but still very nice.

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  • 2007 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––
    – 44% Mourvedre, 29% Grenache, 21% Syrah, 6% Counoise –

    Rich, spicy, red-fruited nose. Medium-full to full bodied. On the palate: nice leather; ripe red fruits; not overblown; some good S. Rhone leather and a hint of garrigue. Very nice; better than the ‘06.

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  • 2007 Tablas Creek Tannat

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Adelaida District

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room ––
    – 90% Tannat, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon --

    Purple color of great depth. The nose on this is dark-fruited and simple. Full bodied palate, and tannic. Loganberry with hints of leather and flowers on the palate. I liked this more than ‘06 vintage of this bottling.

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  • 2007 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel Panoplie

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    -- tasted a single glass, non-blind in tasting room –
    -- decanted for a few hours before tasting ––
    – 60% Mourvedre, 30% Grenache, 10% Syrah –

    Spicy, beefy, funky, rich red-fruited nose is complex and completely engaging. Full bodied on the palate. On the palate, this is straight-up CdP from CA. Rich fruit flavors that are not over-extracted or concentrated; obvious funk; garrigue; seamless palate; great balance; easily the best wine I’ve ever tasted from Paso. As with all the wines I taste in a tasting room setting, I did not score this wine, but if I did it would be in the 96-99 range – my gut tells me “98.” This redefines my sense of what Paso wine is capable of.

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