Four Vines, nine grapes, one wine!

A typical saying is that less is better. In cooking, that is often the golden rule. The more ingredients one uses in a dish, the more confusion on the palate. In winemaking, it may well be the same, at least one can wonder to what extent each and every grape variety contributes to in the blend. In Bordeaux, where blending has always been part of the philosophy, either Merlot (the most planted variety) or Cabernet Sauvignon play the leading role, and in Rhône Valley it’s normally Grenache, or Syrah. In addition, there are a number of blendning grapes. One may add body to the wine, another can contribute with a certain aroma or spiciness, and some grape varieties just add volume to make the final wine.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the most well knowm and, in the sense of number of variteties used of the blended wines in the world, the most complex. Fourteen varieties are allowed, although they all rarely are found in one blend. Most of these wines are based on Grenache, with the addition of five to eitght other grapes.
This kind of rhônish blends are also found in California among the so called Rhône Rangers. One of them is Four Vines Winery in the western part of Paso Robles. It’s a 40 000 cases per year winery founded 1996.
Overall, quality is good, but so far not impressive. A part from the quite elegant unoaked Naked Chardonnay from Santa Barbara fruit, most wines are a bit sturdy and lack finesse.
This wine, though, is one of the better.

2007 Cypher Ecelctic Red Wine / 88 p
Nine grapes were used in this wine, and the blend is in all aspects very unusual. Carignane is 22 percent of the blend, the Portugise port wine variety Touriga Nacional and the darkskinned Teroldego of Northern Italy 17 percent each. Three other port wine grapes are used in the blend, 12 percent Tinta Cão, 11 percvent Souza (sometimes called Periquita) and 6 percent Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo). Zinfandel is also here, at 8 percent, and so is Petite Sirah with only a single percent – I wonder how much that helped. The last 6 percent comes from Petite Verdot. Confused? For sure I am!
Color is dark purple, almost opaque. The nose it very intense, almost sweetish and very ripe, but there are so many types of fruit here – dark cherries, blackberries, cassis, a slightly greenish and vegetal touch, some vanilla, and some sweetness from the oak. At first, it’s not too elegant, and to be honest, it’s not elegant at all. However, it’s a very rich and powerful wine with some finer notes to it. Acidity is fine but not fresh, it’s more of a sweetish fruit driven wine with silky tannins and some warmth from the 14.7 percent of alcohol. It’s a great barbeque wine rather than a wine to more classic dishes, and it benefits from decanting, or at least one hour of aeration. Althoug drinkable now, I’d rather keep it another year or two to see if more complexity will rise through the massive fruit.
Drink it 2011-2017.

Zeductive Zinfandel from Turley Cellars

Turley Cellars is one of the most well known zinfandel specialists (Ravenswood, Seghesio, Rosenblum Cellars and Carlisle are other recommended zinfandelists), and their wines always have a typical house style. The winery is owned by Larry Turley, and the first vintages was 1993, made by his sister Helen Turley, who already at that time had become well known for her powerful and high scoring wines. The styles was pretty much set but her, but since Larry is a great fan of amarone wines, and likes his wines full bodied and rich, this is the style you can expect from Turley Cellars.

Helen Turley only made two vintages, and from 1995 the talented Ehren Jordan is responsible for making the wines and he’s doing a great job although the style is till immensely rich and extravagant. In total, there are 80.90 hectares of estate and leased vineyards (2.00 hectares around the estate and winery in St Helena in Napa Valley, the Rattlesnake Vineyard up at Howell Mountain, the Vineyard 101 close to the freeway near Geyserville in Alexander Valley, and the fine Pesenti Vineyard in Paso Robles). In addition to these vineyards, Larry and Ehren are buying Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from numerous vineyards with old vines (at least 40 years old) around the state.

These wines are not for everyone. Not that they are overly expensive – well, they’re not cheap – more that they are quite extreme in their concentration, ripe and almost sweetish fruit and above that, their high alcohol levels. It’s commonly known that Zinfandel is able to ferment into very strong wines with alcohol levels over 16 percent. Sometimes that’s not enough to measure the alcohol levels of the zinfandels from Turley Cellars. However, looking beyond the high alcohol levels, there’s a lot of quality in these wines. The intensity and aromatics of the fruit is impressive, especially in the wines from Paso Robles and from the mountain sites (such as the Pringle Family Vineyard in Howell Mountain, one of the finest zinfandels from Turley Cellars, and the Zinfandel Black Sears Vineyard from the same appellation). The two latter wines also offer a great structure, typical from mountain vineyards, which makes these wines even more serious and complex. Total production varies from 10 000 to 15 000 cases per year.

2008 Zinfandel Pesenti Vineyard / 91 p

The Pesenti Vineyard in the cooler but still warm western parts of Paso Robles was initially planted in 1923 by Frank Pesenti. Since then it has been replanted in 1947 and 1965, so vines are not extremely old here. A good thing though, is the chalky soils which brings a fine sour minerality to the taste. It’s always a good wine, one of the better and more elegant in the range of zinfandels from Turley Cellars, but from the upper parts of the vineyard, the grapes for the even better wine Zinfandel Überroth Vineyard are sourced. Color is purple red and quite deep, and the nose is (as expected from this winery) very ripe, almost sweetish, opulent and intense, with notes of dark cherries, blackberries and sweet raspberries. There’s just a hint of oak. On the palate, it’s full bodied without being too concentrated, however the fruit is ripe and sweet, quite lush and driven by the intense fruitiness. There are a lot of sweet raspberries, not too different from those found in the wines of Melville Estate (their pinots), but there is also a lively and fresh acidity and a fine tannic structure, as well as a rhubarb kind of bitterness and acidity, to balance the sweetness, but there’s also a significant warmth from the high alcohol. Although I really like the flavors of the wine, the fiery alcohol lower my score a bit. This is for sure a delicious wine, but based on the high alcohol, I’d rather drink it with a steak, or venison with a creamy sauce, that to drink it as it is. It needs at least half an hour in the decanter to develop more finesse.
Drink it 2011-2015.

Selling point at Ed Sellers

Paso Robles is at the moment one of the most interesting appellations in California. One thousand vines were planted already at the Mission San Miguel Arcangel by the legendary Franciscan monk father Junipero Serra in 1797. At that time, the Mission grape (a Spanish grape known as Listán Negra) was the only grape planted, today Paso Robles is known for its Zinfandels, and various southern French varieties. Zinfandel came with Italian immigrants already in the late 1800s, and you’ll still see some vines from that time.

During the 1920s, more Italian families moved to Paso Robles to grow wine. Most of those families, like Pesenti, Dusi, Bianchi and Martinelli, planted Zinfandel, and during the time of Prohibition (1920-1933) they sold their grapes to home wine makers all over the country, or to the very few wineries with a license to make wine for the church.
Paso Robles is a unique Californian wine region. Not only is it the region with highest fluctuation in temperatures day and night. It can fall from 40+ degrees Celsius daytime to just under 10 degrees during the night. That creates very special growing conditions, and full bodied wines with intense and ripe fruit flavors, great structure and fine natural acidity. Also, the geological aspects are unique – Paso Robles offers a wide selection of soil types and is one of the few in California where you will find limestone.

Since gaining it status as appellation, AVA, in 1983, Paso Robles has slowly developed into a highly interesting wine region with lots of personality. There’s now 10 560 hectares of vines planted, and from having only a few dozens of producers in the 1990s, there are today more than 120 wine producers.
One of the recent stars is Edward Seller, a pilot and sailor with passion for wine who founded his wine company in 2004. At the time, he didn’t have his own winery, so his custom crushed his grapes at Paso Robles Wine Exchange, and still do so, but now at Denner Vineyards.
From only buying grapes, Edward Sellers now owns 12.15 hectares of vines (1.60 hectares of that is planted to green Rhône varieties).
The wines from Edward Sellers are very fine examples of the Rhône varieties, they can easily be taken for being French if tasted blind – and that’s why Paso Robles has become the home of so many Rhône Rangers.
Today Edward Sellers makes around 5 000 cases annually, and for their price level, they are outstanding!

2008 Estate Blanc / 91 p
This is normally a blend of approximately 50-55 percent Grenache Blanc, around 25-30 percent Roussanne (from a block white snow white limestone soil) and 15-20 percent Marsanne from the estate vineyard in the cooler part of western Paso Robles. The juice is fully barrel fermented, but since Edward doesn’t use new barrels, there’s no toasted of vanilla sweet flavors in the wine. Just a small fraction of the wine went through malolactic fermentation, and in total, the wine spent just 6 months in the barrels.
Oh, what a lovely and elegant nose, rich and intense with notes of sweet lemons, white flower and honey. There’s a serious stuffing on the palate, white peaches, honey and an almost sweet lemon flavor that lingers for a while, and the aftertaste is just fantastic. The first sip may make you think you’ll find be some kind of sweetness on the palate, but there’s no sweetness at all, just a silkiness to make the aftertaste even more seductive. As in many wines from Paso Robles, this wine has a fine and refreshing acidity, which is very important for the overall balance. I’d love to see this wine with seared scallops, lobster of king crab. Serve it at 10-12 degrees Celsius.
Drink it 2011-2014.

2007 Vertigo / 92 p
A range of varietal wines is complemented by a few blends, and the Vertigo is a very fine blend of approximately 70 percent Grenache, 15-18 percent Mourvèdre and 13-15 percent Syrah. The wine has spent 18-19 months in French oak barrels, of which 40 percent were new. This is a quite rich and intense wine, reminiscent of those of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but with a more lively acidity.
It’s dark cherry red, high intensity. On the nose, it offers a range of dark barriers, but more of an earthiness that’s quite attractive and that adds complexity, and there are no traces of oak at all. Poured blind, it could easily been taken for being a blend from south of France, which is not so uncommon for fine red blends of Paso Robles. At Ed Sellers and some of his colleagues, this is even more common. On the palate, it offers a medium to full body without being overly ripe, rather intense and fruit driven, relatively high in alcohol (15 percent) but by no means out of balance, and with a fine tannic structure to hold everything together. In the finish, there’s a slight bitterness that will soften with one or two more years of bottle age, but already today you’ll find a very attractive fruitiness. Again, France would be a great guess if poured blind. Serve it at 18-20 degrees in large glasses.
Drink it 2012-2017.

A great white adventure – the Roussanne of Stephane Asseo

I’ve written about Stephane Asseo and his adventure of l’Aventure before, and this time I’ll focus on his white, the Roussanne Estate. If Rhône styled reds are well know and more and more popular among consumers as well as growers and producers, the whites counterparts are less known and made in minuscule volumes. There are 1 204 hectares of Viognier planted in California, less than 150 hectares of Roussanne, and just slightly more than 100 hectares in total of Grenache Blanc and Marsanne. The lion share of these whites is planted in the Central Coast, where producers such as Tablas Creek (partly owned by Châteauneuf-du-Pape based Château de Beaucastel), Alban Vineyards and Sine-Qua-Non have played a great part in spreading the knowledge and passion about these whites.
If the American chardonnays are notably different from the burgundian wines, the California white Rhône blends can, and actually often are, relatively similar to the French versions.
There’s only one white wine from the l’Aventure estate in the beautiful Paso Robles west, which is marked by the proximity to the cool Pacific, but also by the warm days. But is i a true white gem of the Paso Robles. At least if you enjoy rich and powerful wines in the style of Alban Vineyards and Sine-Qua-Non. This is another one …

2008 Roussanne Estate / 95 p
There is around 15 percent of Viognier in the Roussanne wine, which is fermented in 15-30 percent new French oak barrels and kept there for six months. Since yields are very low, only 13 hectoliters per hectare, the wine offers a great concentration of ripe but not too sweet yellow fruits like apples, sweet lemons and pineapples. There’s also a lovely honey note as well as a touch of bees wax and licorice, all quite common aromas in Roussanne. It’s full bodied, yet elegant, it’s ripe and lush with a silky texture of glycerol and an almost sweetish fruit, but there’s also enough acidity to balance all that fruit, body and alcohol, which in this wine almost touch 15 percent. Sweet lemons and honey lingers for a while in the lovely aftertaste, that’s completely dry and surprisingly fresh. I prefer to serve it at 12-14 degrees, but thanks to its fine acidity and great balance, it also tastes damn good at 16-18 degrees, just as many northern Rhône whites.
Drink it 2010-2018.

2005 Booker Vineyard of Saxum

Justin Smith is a star. Many growers and winemakers in Paso Robles admire him, and honor him for working so hard and focused to reach the highest quality. Although he’s young, and didn’t go to the universities at Davis or San Luis Obispo to study viticulture och enology, he knows exactly how to handle his vineyards, vines and wines.
Located in Paso Robles west, only 16 kilometers from the cool Pacific, the 20.25 hectare James Barry Vineyard is one of the best vineyards in the region. It was planted by Justin’s father James Barry 30 years ago, mainly with Syrah and Grenache, but also with some Mourvèdre. Justin and his wine company Saxum is a typical Rhône Ranger with a list of six different blends, most of them dominated of Syrah, and the wines are full bodied, ripe, with a high and sometimes too fiery alcohol level, and seasoned with the most expensive oak one can find. Quite often they are a bit too much, still there are a lot of qualities in them. No wonder that they have been under the Parker radar for some years, and that the 2007 James Barry Vineyard was awarded with a perfect 100 point score – as the first one in Paso Robles.

I normally find the Booker Vineyard wine to be slightly more "elegant", if one can use that work for these blockbusters. It comes from the Booker Vineyard, owned by Eric Jensen (a former apprentice at Saxum, and a big fan of Justin Smith), but it is planted in 2001 by Justin Smith who now works with a 1.62 hectare
These are not wines for those who are looking for finesse and elegance, these wines are blockbusters. So please, dear Francophiles, move on, there’s no need to complain – Justin will not change his ways.
Justin recommends to give his wines a lot of air, either decant them one or two hours before serving them, or even open the bottles a day in advance and let the breathe slowly.

2005 Booker Vineyard / 94 p
Talk about opaque! This cuvée of 92 percent and 8 percent of Grenache from the Booker Vineyard in Paso Robles is purple ink, and it really coats the inside of the glass with its color. It offers a young, very concentrated with loads of dark berries and violets, at one point when it was poured from the bottle also quite oaky. Still it offered some kind of finesse – not that this is a light and truly elegant wine, more like it is surprisingly well balanced to be such a big boy. When standing in the decanter (I had it opened for six hours), the intensity of the fruits fades away a bit, instead a more earthy quality evolves, and it is actually a very interesting wine. The almost 16 percent of alcohol is of course too high, and adds as warm and fiery touch. I find the fruit to evolve into a greater complexity, which is a positive thing that answers the question whether this wine could age or not. I take it as it will. On the palate it is very intensive, full bodied and to a certain extent slightly sweetish, still with a firm tannic structure and a surprisingly fine acidity to make the taste balanced, and there’s just a slight bitter note from the oak. Overall, it’s a lovely wine for those who seek concentration and good structure. Serve it well decanted at 18 degrees, not warmer than that if you are a bit concerned about high alcohol levels.
Drink it 2010-2020.

2008 Theresa from Denner Vineyards

The Rhône varietals thrive in California, and the growers and winemakers handles them better today than ever. Syrah is with is 7 642 hectares under vine the far most planted and popular Rhône grape in California, followed by Grenache with 2 818 hectares and Carignane with 1 499 hectares. Viognier is the most widely planted green Rhône varietal, and in 2008 it covered 1 204 hectares. Introduced in the 1970s, winemakers used the same techniques as with Chardonnay, resulting in full bodied, heavy and overly oaky and alcoholic wines of Viognier with no finesse. Since then, the style has moved towards lighter wines (still, alcohol levels reach 14.5 percent or even more) with less use of new oak, shorter ageing time in oak, less bâtonnage if at all, and no malolactic fermentation to retain the so needed acidity.
Of the other Rhône varietals, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc are the most important, if a total of 141 hectares and tiny 65 hectares for them can be called important. For most American consumers, these grape varieties are almost unknown, for the simple reason that they were rarely mentioned on the labels, until quite recently. With a growing interest for both red and white Rhône styled wines, the acreage of these grape varieties are steadily growing.
In Paso Robles, which is a great source of fine wines in this category, there are numerous producers of distinction. My favorites are l’Aventure, Ed Sellers, Tablas Creek (they make the most French styled wines in California) and Denner Vineyards, which has been presented before here on California Wine Report.

2008 Theresa / 92 p
This is a blend of 62 percent Roussanne, 24 percent Viognier and seven percent each of Marsanne and Grenache Blanc. The four grapes are processed separately in either steel drums or used French oak barrels – Ron Denner and his winemaking son Brian doesn’t want to hide fine fruit in too much oak, which is wise – and to preserve the so needed acidity in these moderately acidic grape varieties, the malolactic fermentation is always blocked. The color is golden straw, and the nose invites you to a journey in white and yellow flowers, honey and tropical fruits, almonds and spices like black pepper and licorice. There is really note more that a smallest trace of the oak, which is just perfect. It’s really intriguing and a very good example on how good the Californian whites of Rhône varietals can be. Without any doubts, this wine could easily be taken for a profound Rhône wine in any blind tasting, at any time. It’s really the best out of two worlds – the ripeness is there, the body and the texture as well, but alcohol is at 13.5 percent (or, at least not more than 14.0 percent) and the classic finesse found in classic wines from Europe dominates over power and richness. Also, even though the acidity is moderate, it’s good enough to balance the fruit and together with a tickling note of mineral, it actually gives the wine a delicious freshness. It’s not the best, but it is one of the most elegant white Rhône styled wines from California I have tasted.
Drink it 2010-2013.

Estate Cuvée 2006 of l'Aventure

It’s really an adventure, and it all started when vigneron Stephan Asseo left Bordeaux and the strict French appellation system, to find a new place to fulfill his dreams of making wines just as he wanted to. He found the right place in the western, cooler parts of Paso Robles. Today, his vineyard covers 24.25 hectares, only 15 kilometers from the cool ocean, with various soil types and exposures. This is a young venture, vineyards were planted in 1998 thru 2004, and the first wines were made in 1998, back then from bought in grapes. Over the ten years, his vineyards have matured, and from 2008 all wines are estate grown.
Bordelaise grape varieties and Rhône ones, made as separate wines or blended together, is the philosophy here. The only white, Roussanne Estate, which includes 15 percent of Viognier, is one of the most impressive ones in that style in California. The rest of the wine list is also very exciting. The top wine, however, is the Estate Cuvée, and that’s what I had tonight.

2006 Estate Cuvée / 96 p
Talking to Stephan Asseo, you realize that this kind of wine was his reason for leaving Bordeaux. This is a blend of 49 percent of Syrah, 37 percent of Cabernet Sauvignon and 14 percent of Petit Verdot, all fermented in small stainless steel tanks, and then kept in all new French oak barrels for 14-16 months. It’s truly a great wine, dark and very dense with high viscosity, good amounts of glycerol and a warm sensation of the alcohol. Yet it is a very well balanced wine – however, thinking about its body and power, I cannot describe how it can be so "elegant" – with a silky, rich and ripe dark fruit with notes of blackberries, cassis, blueberries and plums. Tannins are huge, but I would call them perfectly ripe and therefore very well integrated in the lovely body, and the aftertaste lingers for a minute or two, at least. Oak is of course present with sweet note of vanilla and hints of chocolate, but within a year or two, there will come more complexity out of this wine – so just wait and see. As all wines of this caliber, this is not filtered, so you will see some very fine sediment in it already today. There is no way to get rid of it by decanting, so I guess you have to accept that. And for me, that’s fine. Also, this is Paso Robles and a great producer, so alcohol is of course very high, 15.9 percent, and therefore the wine should not be served at higher temperatures than 18 degrees.
Drink it 2010-2020.

Grenache 2007 from Denner Vineyards

Paso Robles is one of the most exciting wine regions in California. Over the last decade, the number of wine producers has more than doubled. There are now 180+ producers in Paso Robles, and more operations are expected to open up in the coming years. Most interesting is the Paso Robles West, the cooler and rolling landscape west of Highway 101, where Zinfandel and Rhône varietals thrive on the hillsides. In this region, you’ll find abundant of limestone or mudstone (a soil type rich in calcium) which is very rare in California. The soils and the cooler climate definitely add structure and personality to the wines. They are normally rich, ripe och huge, still with a good portion of tannins and a lively natural acidity.
Still the “old timers” (well, they’re not really that old) such as Justin Vineyards and Tablas Creek Vineyards, co-owned by Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, make wines of qualities that are anywhere from recommended to outstanding, and both of them make wines that are able to evolve well in the bottle.
Denner Vineyards is a new winery, founded by the business man Ron Denner, who spared no cost in the development of his fabulous vineyard and winery. It perfectly planned into the smallest detail. It’s really a hit! Denner sells most of the grapes from his 63 hectare vineyard and among the lucky winemakers who are on that list you’ll find Matt Trevisan of Linne Calodo, another great Paso Robles producer (Matt focus on Zinfandel). They also sell grapes to Justin for their top wine Isosceles and to the highly recommended winery Villa Creek.
The wines of Denner are rich and intense, pure and very elegant, and with a lot of personality. I like to their lovely balance, their length, and (with some air on most of their wines) the almost French flavor profile. Production reaches around 4 500 to 5 000 cases annually, but the capacity stretches more towards 10 000 to 12 000 cases per year.

2007 Grenache / 91-92 p
This is a cuvée of approximately 85 per cent Grenache, 10 per cent Syrah and a splash of Couniose, and a fraction of the Grenache is fermented in whole bunches, which add a slightly herbacious quality to the wine. It’s so aromatic that the wild raspberry and sweet cherry fruit almost jump in your face, but still it is lovely and elegant and very true to its varietal character. Notes of black pepper as well as just a hint of licorice is also present, but the oak is extremely well integrated. On the palate, it’s as intense as on the nose, lush and ripe with silky tannins, good acidity (which is needed in a Grenache wine to make is elegant) and the taste lingers for a minute. Boy, this is a textbook Grenache, and it’s just delicious. I’ve tasted it a few times, and my recommendation is to not decant in too much in advance – the finest aromatic notes may then disappear. Pour it directly from the bottle, and enjoy how it develop in the glass.
Drink it 2010-2015.

Justification 2007 of Justin Vineyards

Western Paso Robles is a great wine region. It has been called the Tuscany of California, and everyone who has travelled the region, understands why. The Santa Lucia Mountain range makes the western border of the wine growing region, and from there the rolling hills with its vineyards create a myriad of unique climate zones for the wine growers. It’s really a very good and interesting wine region.

Here, you’ll find famous wineries such as Tablas Creek Vineyards, Denner Vineyards, Booker Vineyard, Adelaida Cellers, Saxum … and Justin Vineyards. The latter was founded already in 1981, two years before Paso Robles gained its status as AVA. At that time, only a dozen wineries were in business. Today, they are close to 200!
Over the years, Justin Vineyard has grown into a full scale operation with 27 hectares of vines and a total production of 45 000 cases per year. Their most famous wine is the fabulous meritage Isosceles, made of approximately 80-85 per cent of Cabernet Sauvignon with a balance of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. It’s a great wine, especially with some years of bottle age. I’ll get back to that wine in the future.
One of my favorites from Justin is the Justification, a blend obviously inspired by the great wine of Château Cheval Blanc in St-Emilion; two thirds of Cabernet Franc and one third Merlot, raised in French and some American oak barrels for 18 months.

2007 Justificaton / 92 p
I had this wine next to the great but still very young 2006 Isosceles, and I have to admit I preferred the Justification. Not at first, but after a while in the glass. It’s of course also very young, dark purple colored and intense, with a cassis scented and slightly grassy nose. I found it to be surprisingly open to be a 2007, and it was very elegant. The oak is well integrated, it’s just a hint of vanilla there, and on the palate it’s rich and fruit driven with lovely notes of cassis and blackberries, not sweet, just lush and silky, yet with a fine texture and perfectly ripe tannins. I followed the evolution of the wine for over three hours, and over time, it became even more elegant, silky and complex, even Bordeaux like. It’s a beautiful wine, and looking at the price ($62-68), it’s a stunning best buy.
Drink it 2010-2022.

Many faces of Adelaida Cellars

Winemaker Terry Culton came to Adelaida Cellars in west Paso Robles in 2002, and since then he has crafted wines of excellence and many faces. I don’t know what the secret is, but as always I guess it is to be found in the vineyard. The strange thing here, however, is that Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and even Nebbiolo, grows in a series of adjacent vineyard blocks (57 hectares in total) in the same small valley, although on various altitudes. Although travelling all over the world, up to date to over a thousand of wineries on all continents, I’ve never before came across a vineyard like this. And it seems to work!

2008 Chardonnay HMR Vineyard / 87 p
Only 300 cases were made of this quite elegant chardonnay, fermented in neutral French oak with partial malolactic fermentation. It’s for sure a cool climate chardonnay, with a crisp acidity and delightful lemony fruit. The oak gives more texture that taste of flavor, and there also some steely notes that I guess derives from the mineral rich soil. It’s a very elegant wine with a greater relationship with fine burgundies than the regular Californian chardonnays, but the aftertaste i unfortunately quite short, which of course is a bit sad. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.

2006 Pinot Noir HMR Vineyard / 88 p
The grapes for this wine comes from one of the oldest vineyards with Pinot Noir in California, they were planted 1964 and 1965. Production is traditional, open top fermenters with manual pigeage and malolactic fermentation in small French oak barrels, of which only 25 per cent are new. This is a lovely pinot, at least for those who look for a more refined wine with a dry and classic structure, and although it is more complex than fruit driven, it is loaded with sour cherries. As the other wines from Adelaida, the finish is a little bit dry. Drink it 2010-2016.

2007 Zinfandel Michael Estate Vineyard / 90 p
This is a pure Zinfandel from old head pruned vines, and to select the very best and fully ripe berries, the grapes are harvested in several tries. The upbringing took place in neutral French oak barrels for almost two years, and neither the oak nor the 15.9% alcohol is very important in the wines flavor profile (there’s only a slight warming sensation in the aftertaste). Instead there are loads of pure, dark and aromatic fruit flavors and the tannins are relatively silky. It’s a very good zinfandel indeed. Drink it 2010-2015.

2006 Syrah Reserve Viking Vineyard / 92 p
This is one of the most impressive wines of Adelaida Cellars. It comes from a very low yielding quite steep slope, and the juice is fermented in small open top fermenters with daily pigeage and then the wines has been stored in French oak barrels (a third new) for almost two years. This is a dark, quite rich and spicy beauty, with hints of black pepper, licorice, violets and black currants, but it’s not as charming on the palate as on the nose – it is way too structured for that. But with some air, it opens up and reveals a lovely combination of backbone and upfront fruit. For a even more complex wine experience, keep this wine another year or two. Drink it 2011-2021.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Viking Vineyard / 91 p
This top notch wine of Adelaida Cellars it beautiful, and shows that Cabernet Sauvignon can stand on its own here I west Paso Robles, a wine region well known for its blends. Fermentation took place in open top fermenters, and the wine has then been stored in French oak barrels, only 40 per cent new, over two years. I like this wine for it absolute elegance, the pure and intense cassis flavors it offers, the notes of mineral and the very well integrated and polished structure. Still it is very young, but not closed, it just need some more years to really show its true complexity. Drink it 2010-2021.