Paso Robles Winery Tour

During a family trip down the CA coast, I had one day to tour some Paso Robles wineries while my wife and children toured Hearst Castle nearby. This was my first time to the region and I tried to taste as much as possible as I drink Rhone reds on a regular basis.

To see some photos taken on the tour, paste this address into your brower - http://www.flickr.com/photos/37631419@N05/sets/72157617152149676/show/

A must stop in Paso as they offer you the most wines to taste. $10 or free with one bottle purchase. They also gave me a free shipping case after buying just two bottles. Lovely people and wine.

• 2006 Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Initially some crisp green apple flavors, then some mineral notes and some citrus flavors. Light to medium body and makes for a nice food wine.

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• 2006 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Bright floral, peach, and honey aromas and flavors, finishing crisp with a mineral edge. A very nice medium bodied wine.

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• 2006 Tablas Creek Côtes de Tablas Blanc 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Light floral nose and palate, light body, with some pear and apple flavors. Nice wine for the price.

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• 2006 Tablas Creek Roussanne Bergeron 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Very light bodied, nicely balanced, with lower acidity but still some nice bright fruit. Lovely summer wine.

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• 2006 Tablas Creek Vermentino 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Light body, crisp acidity, with nice bright fruit and an almost sweet finish.

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• 2007 Tablas Creek Rosé 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Sweet nose, dry on the palate, nicely balanced restrained red fruit flavors. Very good rose.

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• 2006 Tablas Creek Côtes de Tablas 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Bright red fruit, with some glycerin on the midpalate, then a nice finish with some earth and mineral notes.

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• 2006 Tablas Creek Mourvèdre 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Red and dark fruit, though leaning more towards dark fruit with lower acidity and lighter body than the other reds.

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• 2004 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Rich dark fruit, medium body, smooth long finish. A very nice wine, though it reminds me more of Napa cab than French Rhone given the ripe dark fruit flavors and little if any earth, leather, or pepper.

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• 2005 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Now THIS tastes like CdP. Tasting side by side with the 04 showed astounding differences. This wine had plenty of earth on the nose and palate, red and dark fruit, with bright acidity. Medium body with a long finish. A dead ringer for a French Rhone. My favorite wine of the tasting.

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A fairly new winery that is quite slick and did not charge a tasting fee if you bought wine ($5 otherwise).

• 2007 Denner Theresa 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Light to medium body, crisp acidity, juicy green apple and pear fruit, with light mineral notes on the finish.

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• 2007 Denner Viognier 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Little on the nose, with some citrus and tropical fruit and light floral notes.

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• 2006 Denner Mourvèdre 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Spicy plum and blackberry fruit, but a little disjointed on the finish with a little sourness. Still a nice wine.

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• 2005 Denner Syrah 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Rich dark, jammy fruit, a little hot and over the top, but with good tannins to balance it out, and a nice, long finish.

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• 2006 Denner The Ditch Digger 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Peppery, dark red fruit, a hint of jamminess and earth, with rich, spicy fruit. My favorite of the tasting.

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This winery is currently under new construction and is a bit of a mess. They charge a $10 fee whether you buy anything or not.

• 2007 Linne Calodo "Pale Flowers" 86 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Some acidity, little on the nose, light body, red fruit, and some floral notes.

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• 2006 Linne Calodo Cherry Red 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Spicy (though less than The Outsider), medium body (light for zin), but with intense dark fruit and a long finish. Very light on its feet for such an intense and high alcohol wine without the syrupy mouthfeel or heat you might expect.

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• 2006 Linne Calodo Outsider 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Quite spicy, both on the nose and the palate, with a surprisingly light body for a big zin (medium body) with dark fruit and a nice long finish.

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• 2006 Linne Calodo Rising Tides 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Concentrated fruit, but again only medium body, with a spicy nose, and just a little heat. My favorite wine of the Linne Calodo tasting.

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• 2006 Linne Calodo Sticks and Stones 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Very light on its feet for a wine with 15.8% alcohol, with some ample tannin and acidity backed up by rich fruit.

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A more casual laid back tasting room that charges $10 whether you buy or not. You get to keep an inscribed Riedel glass. Well worth the stop.

• 2005 Booker Vineyard White 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Not floral on the nose, but is on the palate, along with tropical fruit flavors like passionfruit, ending with a honeyed edge on the finish.

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• 2007 Booker Vineyard Pink 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Bigger than most rose's, with a little glycerin and lots of red fruit flavors.

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• 2005 Booker Vineyard Remnant 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  An interesting blend of 50% syrah, with rest equal parts (16%) cab sauvignon, cab franc, and petite verdot. Starts with a red fruit profile, then transitions to dark fruit though maintains a higher level of acidity than most Paso reds, and ends with a long finish of currants. My favorite wine of the Booker tasting.

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• 2005 Booker Vineyard Syrah Fracture 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Big, juicy blackberry fruit, with a little heat on the finish. Excellent syrah, but my Bordeaux side prefers the Remnant.

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A pretty winery that charges $10, but waives one tasting for each bottle purchased.

• 2007 Terry Hoage Vineyards Bam Bam Grenache Rosé 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Very light rose, salmon colored, with just a hint of red wine character versus regular whites.

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• 2006 Terry Hoage Vineyards Grenache Skins 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Cherry fruit on the entry, with smooth dark fruit on the finish. Medium body, light acidity, with a nice, long finish.

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• 2006 Terry Hoage Vineyards Cuvée The Pick 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Darker fruit and lower acidity than the other cuvees, with a rich, long finish. My favorite wine of the tasting.

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• 2006 Terry Hoage Vineyards Grenache-Syrah The 46 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Higher acidity than the others, with red and dark fruit and a medium finish.

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They charge $10 to taste and you get to keep an inscribed Riedel O glass. Had a nice time.

• 2007 L'Aventure Roussanne Estate 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Lower acidity, with some apple and citrus, but did not pick up any floral notes from the 15% viognier. An easy pass at $35.

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• 2007 L'Aventure Cuvée des Potes Rosé 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Bright and well balanced, with a nice finish leaning more towards the red side of the spectrum. A fuller style rose, and pretty good for $20 or less.

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• 2005 L'Aventure Optimus 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Lots of rich dark fruit and some obvious oak on a full bodied frame, with plenty of sweet tannins to balance out the big fruit. Prefer the 04 slightly more.

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• 2006 L'Aventure Côte-à-Côte Estate 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Intense dark fruit, yet still smooth and balanced from soft tannins and just enough acidity. A lush wine with a long finish.

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• 2006 L'Aventure Estate Cuvée 94 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Higher acidity than the other reds with some red fruit flavors to complement the prevalent dark fruit. Oak there, but not as obvious. Rich and smooth and more interesting and elegant than the other reds I tasted from them. Easily my favorite of the tasting.

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Very laid back and out of the way, and you must call ahead as they pour on some weekends and not on others. No charge and super friendly folks serving some of the most consistent wines across the board, and their lower priced wines tend to be better values than most others. My family joined me for this tasting and my kids played with their dogs and rode their skateboards.

• 2005 Villa Creek High Road James Berry Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Medium bodied and elegant with some acidity and red and dark fruit that are juicy and focused.

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• 2005 Villa Creek Avenger 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Dark fruit with good structure and acidity while still having good intensity and concentration.

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• 2005 Villa Creek Bête Noire 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Lower acidity than the others, with dark fruit and some pepper. Very nice wine.

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• 2006 Villa Creek Garnacha 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Medium body, dark fruit, nice balance, with a full, long finish.

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• 2006 Villa Creek Willow Creek Cuvée 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Some higher acidity, with some red fruit giving way to dark fruit, and a smooth medium length finish.

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• 2006 MAHA Mas de Maha 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  A rich, lush wine that is half the price of most Spanish luxury cuvees that it compares with. A very smooth medium length finish.

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• 2005 Villa Creek Onda 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Nice balancing acidity with dark fruit flavors and a long finish.

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I stopped here the next day on the way to Santa Barbara based on a rec from a pourer at Booker as I had wanted to try the Curran Grenache Blanc as I had gotten many recs for it. Kris Curran is the former winemaker for Sea Smoke. They also pour her husband's (former winemaker for Sanford) wines Di Bruno (Italian varitels) and Badge (pinot). They charge $15 for 6 wine tasting or $10 for four wines whether you buy or not.

• 2007 Curran Grenache Blanc 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  Well balanced, with nice depth and pure fruit. Clean, dry and crisp finish.

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• 2004 Curran Syrah Four Dog Blend 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  A blend of 75% syrah, with the rest being sangiovese, tempranillo, and carignan. A combination of red and dark fruit flavors, with some crisp acidity and some smooth tannins than go into a long, smooth finish. Excellent wine for $24.

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• 2004 Di Bruno Sangiovese Stolpman Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  A very nice CA sangiovese, but does not remind me of sangiovese as it has no earthiness, low acidity, and rich fruit. The only expected traits I got was the dark cherry fruit and medium body. Not like Tuscan sangiovese at all, but still a nice wine to drink.

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• 2006 Di Bruno Pinot Grigio Sanford & Benedict Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  Light body and acidity. Some citrus and pear notes with a hint of sweetness. Good fruit, unlike most Italian versions, which have less fruit and more acidity and mineral notes.

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