Paso Robles - As Diverse as It Gets in American AVAs
When I think of Paso Robles, I think of well-priced - and often but not always value-oriented bottlings - and richly flavored, higher alcohol wines.
Otherwise, Paso Robles - sometimes referred to as simply "Paso" - is a wine region full of contrasts. That's not surprising considering that the region has 614,000 acres and 11 sub-AVAs with wildly different terroirs.
I recently tasted through several higher-end duos of varietal Paso comparisons. Between the different soils, climates, elevations, grapes and winemaking techniques, I couldn't come to conclusions on terroir distinctions via the selection below. However, I certainly can say that the wines are dependably good - as evidenced by the scores - and that there is a style for just about everyone.
GRENACHE DUO
89
Anglim Winery 2015 Grenache Paso Robles Willow Creek District 14.9% $42
Steve and Steffanie Anglim launched Anglim in 2002. This tasty Grenache is aged in 500L French oak puncheons, 50% new, for an impressively long 34 months!
This wine's brooding color shows a sultry nose of penetrating black currants and licorice. Pure and concentrated plum and spice flavors layer onto the palate, where leathery notes meld into the moderate, dried fruit finish. Despite the vividly youthful color, the fruit freshness has begun to fade. (This may be attributable to the unusually long time in barrel.) The supple, caressing mid-palate is framed by bright and lifting acidity and scruffy tannins. It's a Grenache for the table and for the near-term.
Drink: 2020-21
88
Cass Winery 2017 Grenache Estate Grown Paso Robles Geneseo District 14.8% $32
Winemaker Sterling Kragten makes 600 cases of this elegant Grenache from one of Paso Robles' cooler sub-AVAs. Extensive efforts are made to highlight the fruit, from using an optical sorting machine to aging exclusively in neutral barrels.
Pale with a ruddy-colored rim, this wine is delicate in aroma, flavor and body, despite its elevated alcohol. It's a fine example of how vivid aromatics and structural balance can supersede potential prejudice toward the abv percentage. The nose bursts with rose petals and cinnamon sticks, and the palate sings with crunchy red fruits. It's a gentle sipper with seamlessly smooth tannins and well-placed acidity. The lingering finish is savory and pops with minerally influences. This is drinking very nicely now.
Drink: Through 2020
ZINFANDEL DUO
89
Steinbeck Vineyards & Winery 2015 Zinfandel Steinbeck Estate Paso Robles Geneseo District 14.8% $45
The property first became a family farm 99 years ago (as of 2020), operating as a grain and cattle farm with the first generation. Made from head-pruned vines, Winemaker Steve Glossner ages this Zin a leisurely 24 months in neutral oak barrels.
This is a monster wine that resonated with raisinated flavors when first opened. I put the wine back in my wine fridge minus those first five ounces then opened it two days later. It had blossomed beautifully! It's still an unapologetically husky wine, but its flavor profile had developed nicely with those 48 hours of temperature-controlled aeration. The crinkly, black raisin profile largely had subsided, making room for sweet Mission fig and plump prune flavors to come through along with lusty leathery notes accompanied by sultry, dried tobacco leaves. The tannins changed from bitter and mouth-clenching at the start to pleasantly textured and grippy. With a thorough decantation, this is a very nice sip to accompany a hearty meal. It is drinking well now with a pleasant finish of dried fruits and spices.
Drink: 2020-21
86
Brochelle Vineyards 2017 Zinfandel Paso Robles 15.2% $36
The mission of husband-and-wife team Brock and Michelle is to produce wine with Old World techniques. However, I wouldn't say that this particular wine tastes like it. Nontheless, the vines admirably are dry-farmed, and the wine is neither fined nor filtered.
Hedonistic on the nose, this wine is deeply pruney and so heady with alcohol that I immediately knew I would need to spend some time with it for it to come around. Interestingly for a bold, linebacker-like red, I found that it is not a wine to serve at cellar temperature. Cooler temperatures emphasized the wine's candied fruits, which can be hard to mesh with food, much less enjoy on their own. As this Zin opened up, there was a nice suppleness to the concentrated and fruit-driven full body, which was notably well-balanced by tingly acidity and lively, tactile tannins. It's a husky, highly concentrated one for sure, yet it is probably best enjoyed in its youthful days. While there's good structure for the figgy fruit, it's hard to tell if the harmony will hang on. This is more of a meal in itself than a sipping sort of wine.
Drink: Through 2020
CABERNET SAUVIGNON DUO
90
J. Wilkes 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles Highlands District 14% $30
Jeff Wilkes began his label in 2001 after spending a long career working in the Paso wine region. The fruit for this wine is sourced from some of the highest elevation vineyards in the region, ranging from 1,100 to 2,000 feet above sea level.
Sweetly ripe and exotically enticing on the nose with balsamic slathered, baked fig notes and a juicy, glycerine-loaded texture, this is a succulent wine. However, it's overall more buff than gluttonous thanks to its lifting, balancing and crunchy acidity. Its brisk, 3.3 pH clearly helps, too Every voluminous mouthful of Cabernet Sauvignon (with 5% Lagrein) has a dusting of pithy tannins to keep it focused through the pleasantly lingering finish accented with licorice. I kept half of the bottle overnight in my wine fridge and found that I much preferred the wine on Day 2, which the score reflects.
Drink: 2020-22
89
Écluse Wines 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles 14.1% $45
Steve and Pam Lock purchased their 30 acres of west side Paso land in 1997. They named their winery for the canal locks scattered across France, but, cheekily, Écluse means "Lock" in English. This 300-case Cabernet is aged for 18 months in American and French oak, 40% new, then bottled unfined and unfiltered.
This Cab is a smooth and sippable wine with an enticingly pungent blackcurrant flavor. Though it has not yet developed a broad range of flavors, the medium finish of dark cherries and milk chocolate accompanied by a refreshing acidic lift suggests that it will open up nicely in the next few years. The full body is very well balanced, making this one of the most sippable wines of the tasting.
Drink: 2020-22