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Vol. 9 No.5 - June '01
Central Coast - Paso Robles |
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Vineyards
& Wineries Visited -
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Linne
Calodo |
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some photos courtesy of: A. David Chan
Journal and tasting notes from visits to several Paso Robles wineries over a 4 day period.
Tasting Notes / Scores: Brief tasting impressions are included following the winery write-up. An "n/n" indicates that no notes were taken.
It was an unseasonably warm 102 degrees, as I drove up the steep gravely
road to reach Linne Calodo,
or more properly, Justin Smith's house. Situated within the 
James
Berry Vnyd, Justin's home has a commanding view of the surrounding vineyards,
especially those below to the West. Owned by the Smith family, fruit from
the James Berry Vnyd is sold to the likes of Alban, Wild Horse, Fetzer,
and of course Linne Calodo. Justin is the vineyard manager for the JBV,
as well as the Cherry Ranch vineyard, and he and business partner Matt
Trevisan are the proprietors and winemakers of Linne Calodo. In addition
to fruit from the JBV, Linne Calodo also draws from Cherry Ranch Vnyd,
and Justin has planted 7 acres (5 Syrah, 1 each Grenache and Mourvedre)
down the road at Swanson Family Vnyd, that should yield its first harvest
next year.
The growing conditions in the area are highly influenced by both its altitude (about 1200'-1400') and a geologic formation known as the Templeton Gap, the first low point south of Monterey in the Santa Lucia Mountains. This gap allows a cooling ocean fog to permeate the area well into the morning, yet brings nice warm (or, in this case very warm) days, and pleasant cool evenings.
Since their first harvest in the early '80s, Justin Smith's family has always made a little barrel of this and that in their own micro-winery. This allowed Justin to hone his winemaking as well as vineyard skills. Meanwhile, Justin's college friend, Matt Trevisan, had been working at nearby Wild Horse winery. The two decided to throw in together, and after a few more years of experimenting, they figured it was about time to drop the amateur status, and try their hand at operating a viable winery. Through the 2000 vintage, the wines have been made at Wild Horse, which has a very large facility. This year, Justin and Matt have setup shop at Mat Garretson's new place on Hwy 46 East. Current production is about 1200-1500 cases, with final production expected to cap out at about 2500 cases.
So,
who is Linne Calodo? Well, it's not really a who - it's a what.
"Linne" and "Calodo" are actually two of the geologic terms that apply
to the types of calcareous shale and sandstone soils common to the Adelaida
Hills. Does that whet your appetite? Well, you can read more about it
right here.
Oh, and while we're at it, that fascinating Linne Calodo logo apparently
doesn't represent anything sinister, sensual, or even significant. It's
merely an interpretive piece of artwork by Erin Trefry, commissioned by
a couple of fans - Justin and Matt. Now there's a letdown. It had Sci-Fi
written all over it.
Road Trip
Upon arriving, I wandered out back to where the other visitors were gathered under a couple of large umbrellas, looking for a little relief from the sun while sipping a little for-home-use-only blend of Viognier/Roussanne. After introductions and some chatting, the dozen or so of us then piled into three 4-wheel drive vehicles, with Justin, Matt, and Cris Cherry driving us out to visit the vineyards and actually taste the final product of fruit from these vines. (Cris had recently broken his ankle, and was sporting a pair of crutches through all of this.)
First stop, down the road a bit to Cherry Ranch Vnyd, home to the Zinfandel used in their blends. Owned by Elmer and Mary Cherry, the Cherry Ranch Vnyd has about 2.5 acres of head-trained vines, planted in 1978. Justin is the vineyard manager of this property as well. Justin and Matt poured us the current releases of Willow Red and Cherry Red.
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After piling back into the SUVs, we headed over to the James Berry Vnyd and its Rhone varietals, and. Originally planting the JBV to Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc in 1981, the Smith family became "converted" to Rhone varietals after seeing the results of planting test blocks of Mourvedre, Viognier, and a 4 acre block of Syrah in 1988. Since then, the they have added twenty more acres to the James Berry Vnyd, and included Grenache Noir and Roussanne to the Rhone varietal plantings. The 75 acre vineyard now has 55 acres planted, including a 3.5 acre block known as Bone Rock Terraces. Constructed in 1990 on a very steep rocky hillside, the fractured shale rocks of the Bone Rock section is primarily planted to the Estrella clone of Syrah. This fractured-rock soil has fabulous drainage, thanks to a prehistoric sea that once covered the area. In fact, the section was named in homage to a large whale skeleton that was unearthed while constructing the terraced slopes in the vineyard. This quick-draining soil forces the vines to work extra hard for nutrients, which in turn creates a more concentrated fruit. Appropriately, we tried the '99 James Berry blend.
From here, it was off to their wine lab, library, and experimental station -- in other words, their R & D joint. Enjoying experimentation as they do, Justin and Matt have also played around a lot with different varietal blends and fermenting methods. They use light destemming with minimal crushing, preferring to use a high percentage of whole berry fermentation in open top containers, followed by 8-18 months of aging in small oak barrels. While we all browsed around, Justin and Matt poured us a few more wines, including a '97 Mourvedre. The aroma of this wine was still very meaty and attractive, though the flavor profile had lost a little of its assertiveness. Single bottlings such as this were done more for the sake of experimentation, than for production. And though the Bone Rock, at 90% Syrah, is indeed "varietally legal," they intend to stick with blends and proprietary names. While here, Justin and Matt also poured the pre-release 2000s of Cherry Red, JBV, and Bone Rock.
Finally, we headed back up to the house for an up-close look at the Bone Rock section of the JBV. The temperature was finally starting to cool off as we traversed the steeply terraced vineyard. Noting the interesting reverse angle on some of the terraces, Justin described that the expertise of the Soil Conservation Corps had been enlisted to help minimize erosion (55% slope and average rainfall of 26" makes this a big concern). thus, every other terrace backslopes, channeling the water runoff to a collection culvert and then drained safely to the bottom of the hill. Looking at a cross-section of the hillside, it was also easy to see the rock shale and calcareous soil that gives Linne Calodo its name. As we meandered along one of the terraces, Matt and Justin first poured the '99 Bone Rock, followed by the '99 late harvest Sweet Leona. Needless to say, we all had an excellent time.
Tasted at Linne Calodo:
2000 Linne Calodo Viognier/Roussanne - Paso Robles. Aromas of tropical fruit, with some peach and nectarine. Slightly sweet and buttery mouthfeel, with very nice fruit and balance, and a long finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1999 Linne Calodo Willow Red - Paso Robles. Dense fruity and slightly floral nose. Young astringent mouthfeel, tart pomegranate flavor, long finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B.
1999 Linne Calodo Cherry Red - Paso Robles. Nose of ripe berry, cheese, and banana. Puckery and astringent mouthfeel, sweetens up at mid-palate, then sours up a bit on long finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
1999 Linne Calodo James Berry - Paso Robles. Beautiful fruity and floral nose, with toasty meat aromas. Very chewy mouthfeel, lots of fruit, a touch of bacon fat, very long off-sweet finish. Syrah/Grenache/Mourvedre. Aroma/Taste: A-/A-
2000 Linne Calodo Cherry Red - Paso Robles. The nose is a mass of cassis, boysenberry, and raspberry. Very young in intensity, with a mostly Zin-like mouthfeel initially, until the 20% each of Syrah and Mourvedre kicks in toward the latter palate, smoothing out the bumps and adding a nice meat and maybe beet flavor to the long finish. Aroma/Taste: A-/B+
2000 Linne Calodo James Berry - Paso Robles. Nose of concentrated fruit, meat, ash, and ink. Chewy mouthfeel, with a sweet and meaty midsection, and long tasty finish. Aroma/Taste: A-/A-
2000 Linne Calodo Bone Rock - Paso Robles. Big ripe nose of blackberry, smoke and meat. Chewy mouthfeel, lots of meaty flavors, long finish. Syrah/Mourvedre. Aroma/Taste: B+/A-
1995 Linne Calodo Mourvedre - Paso Robles. Lots of chocolate, blackberry, and meat, with a touch of stem in the nose. A bit lean in varietal flavors, with lots of substance and chew, and a long finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
1999 Linne Calodo Bone Rock - Paso Robles. . Ripe nose of cassis, clove, meat, and smoke. Big mouthfeel, delicious slightly candied flavors, very long finish. Syrah/Mourvedre. Aroma/Taste: A-/A-
1999 Linne Calodo Sweet Leona - Paso Robles. Nose of lightly brandied pear and peach. Fabulous mouthfeel, with a sweet meaty and toasty flavor, and long very Sauternes-smooth finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/A-
While staying in Paso Robles to attend a few events at the 9th annual Hospice du Rhone, we took to the roads to do a little winery hopping. With HdR tastings scheduled for Friday and Saturday afternoons (see HdR Tasting Notes), we had the mornings free, so Dave Chan, Larry Cuaresma, and I decided to ply some of wine roads on the Westside of Hwy 101 today, and cover a few of the Eastside places tomorrow.
Arrived Peachy Canyon tasting room about 11:00, now located in
a small house on Bethel Rd, just off
Hwy 46 West. Not much going on, and it looked like we had the place to
ourselves. This same house has also served as the tasting room for Castoro
Cellars, and briefly for a small winery named Live Oak. Peachy Cyn was
established in 1988 by Doug and Nancy Beckett. Originally, tasting was
done at the Beckett residence on Peachy Cyn Rd, in a small tasting room
out back by the winery. Peachy Cyn's claim to fame is Zinfandel, and they
routinely do several different bottlings, including an Estate, from vineyards
throughout Paso. I didn't ask a lot of questions about the local wine
politics, but judging from the lack of listings in most of the area's
brochures, Doug Beckett may involved in some sort of disagreement with
the PR vineyard association.
Two staffers taking care of the tasting room. Nicole chatted with us a bit as she poured us through the 7 wines du jour. Tasting fee $3, applicable to purchases. Didn't find anything particularly memorable in wines this time, and while we didn't specifically try them, they do have a few "reserves" -- that are getting up there in price ...(here it comes) -- for ZIN. Out at 11:30.
Tasted at Peachy Canyon:
1999 Peachy Cyn Chardonnay - Paso Robles. $14. Nose of sweet hay, with a light citrus peel quality. Good mouthfeel, off-sweet mostly grassy-citrus flavors, crisp finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1999 Peachy Cyn Incredible Red Zinfandel Bin 110 - Paso Robles. $12. Lots of raspberry/boysenberry in the nose. Fruity mouthfeel, nice balance, crisp finish. 3% Cab. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Peachy Cyn Zinfandel - Paso Robles. $15. Ripe and burnished in the nose, with a somewhat thin mouthfeel. Mostly East-side fruit. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Peachy Cyn Westside Zinfandel - Paso Robles. $19. Fairly substantial nose of raspberry and boysenberry. Nice balance, good fruit and slightly chewy mouthfeel, very long clean finish. A no-brainer to step up to over the PR bottling. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1997 Peachy Cyn Zinfandel - Lakeview Vnyd, Paso Robles. $15. Ripe and burnished nose. Tasty fruit, chewy mouthfeel, long finish. This is an Eastside vnyd. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Peachy Cyn Cabernet Sauvignon - Paso Robles. $25. Soft nose of cassis and vanilla. Substantial presence on the palate, but the mouthfeel seems largely inert and missing fruit to match. Light berry notes through long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Peachy Cyn Merlot - Paso Robles. $23. Slightly stemmy and fleshy nose. Stemmy flavors flavors and lean on the palate, long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
Arrived
at JanKris 11:35. The tasting room is only about 100 yds up the
hill from Peachy Cyn. Hadn't been here in several years, so I was interested
to see what changes had taken place. Opened in 1991 by the Gendron family,
who own and farm 171 acres of mostly Merlot and Zin. The winery and vineyard
is named for their two daughters, January and Kristin. A few years ago
the Gendrons decided to take a break from the winery end of the business,
though they continued to run the vineyards. In the interim, they leased
the tasting room to Dover Cyn, until the latter could build their own
winery and tasting room. With the recent Dover Cyn move to their own winery/tasting
room, the Gendrons have come back to resume wine production and sales.
Pouring 8 wines, Gayle Anderson did a great job of chatting up each of
the wines, and kept us entertained with lots of personality as well as
some interesting local stories. The prices seem very affordable, and the
wines have seem to have improved substantially. Out at 12:15.
Tasted at JanKris:
1998 JanKris Chardonnay -Paso Robles. $9.50. A bit swampy and leesy in the nose. Tasty mouthfeel, nice balance and fruit, long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 JanKris Merzin - Paso Robles. $10. Slightly burnished and musty fruit in the nose. Sweet mouthfeel - almost late harvest tasting. Nice balance, good fruit, long finish. Blend of Merlot and Zin. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1999 JanKris Merlot - Paso Robles. $11. Nice fleshy and fruity nose. Medium-full mouthfeel, fleshy and a bit stemmy, with nice balance and long finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1999 JanKris Zinfandel - Paso Robles. $11. Spicy raspberry and boysenberry nose. Spicy and inky on the palate, with lots of boysenberry fruit, and long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B+
1998 JanKris Cabernet Sauvignon - Paso Robles. $20. Smoky and stemmy nose. Quite dry on the palate, with smoky cassis fruit, and long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1999 JanKris Cabernet Sauvignon - Paso Robles. $12. Nose of cassis and vanilla. Zin-like taste to the fruit, with a Claret-like moderate mouthfeel, nice balance and long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 JanKris White Zinfandel - Paso Robles. $6. Slightly burnished raspberry-strawberry nose. Lightly sweet mouthfeel, nice fruit and balance, and long finish Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1999 JanKris Late Harvest Zinfandel - Paso Robles. $8. A bit varnishy in the nose, with a sweet caramelized taste, and light spritz to the mouthfeel. Aroma/Taste: B/B
Arrived at Pesenti 12:25. It's pretty much old news now, but this previous family-owned vineyard and winery was purchased by Turley in May 2000. With origins in the area since 1934, Pesenti was reputed to have excellent vineyard holdings, but never really capitalized on the resultant wine. Turley has now started to change all that - albeit gradually.
Retail manager, Malani Anderson, poured through the 5 selections, and
we browsed around recently renovated and nicely appointed room. Malani
is the former SoCal sales rep for Turley, so it was like having 
our
personal sommelier pouring our tastes. Gone now are the shot glasses,
having been replaced with some nice stemware (well, they're not really
gone - they'll use them for tasting, if you insist). The Pesenti
tasting room is now carrying some of the Turley line for sale - winery
only, no phone or mail orders. Had a great time chatting about Turley
and wine in general. And, Malani's Hawaiian, so she and Larry (no, not
Larry Turley - Larry Cuaresma) hit it off right away. (In
fact, they must have done that 'hang loose' hand-thing for about two hours.
(Just kiddin', Bro.) Seeing that we couldn't talk Malani into pouring
a few Turleys, we thanked her for the great time, and mentioned that we
were going to stop by Pipestone Vineyards. We wondered if she'd heard
any buzz about them. She said that based on the popularity of their wines
at previous week's Paso Robles Wine Festival, they appeared to be an up-and-comer.
Out at 1:00.
Tasted at Pesenti:
NV Pesenti Red Velvet - Paso Robles. $10. Interesting nose of raspberry, strawberry, and pomegranate. Nearly a late harvest taste, with nice fruit and balance, and long finish. Kitchen sink blend of Zin, Syrah, Grenache, Carignane and Cab. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
1999 Pesenti Cabernet Sauvignon - Paso Robles. $20. Almost Zin-like in aroma, with a
bit of stem, and light ash in the nose. A bit lean and acid-edged, with long finish. 300 cases. This will be the last Cab - at least from these vines. They've all been pulled out. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Pesenti Zinfandel - Paso Robles. $15. Sweet and zesty nose, with boysenberry, vanilla, and clove. Lightly spicy mouthfeel, nice balance, long spicy finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
1997 Pesenti Dry Late Harvest Zinfandel - Paso Robles. $15. Zinny and slightly sharp in the nose. A bit pinched and acidic on the palate, yet still quite tasty. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1999 Pesenti Zinfandel Port - Paso Robles. $30. Sweet raspberry and boysenberry fruit, with nicely integrated vanilla and toast. Smooth and succulent fruit, caramelized raspberry a and vanilla flavor, excellent balance, very long smooth finish. 18.6% alcohol. Aroma/Taste: A-/A-
Somewhere along the trail here, we started to get a bit giddy -- no doubt influenced (at least somewhat) by the wine. As we were driving along, Dave sighed, and philosophically opined that "...it's all about the terroir." I agreed, repeating his phrase with a small substitution. "Yeah, it's all about the terrier." And for some reason, we all thought this was funnier than hell. Well, needless to say we dragged this comment out many more times over the weekend. It never seemed to wear out - in fact we're still using it! Along the same lines, after having some guy cut us off in his car, we also discovered that "...let's kick his ass" was a suitable phrase to cover a lot of situations, and never failed to crack us up.
Arrived at Pipestone about 1:10. In the mid-'90s, former environmental engineer Jeff Pipes and his wife Florence Wong moved from Minnesota, purchased about 8 acres off Niderer Rd on Paso's Westside and decided to grow grapes. Funny thing was, in the midst of Zin-growing country what did they decide to plant? Rhone varietals! However, it looks to have been an excellent choice on their part. Wanting to make both Northern and Southern Rhone-styled wines, they planted 3 acres of Syrah, 2-1/2 of Grenache, 1/2 Mourvedre and 1-1/2 Viognier. Production for the 1st vintage was 575 cases, with the 2000 vintage coming in at about 1600 cases.
Upon arriving, we drove around back behind the small residence, parked,
and went into the adjoining tasting room. Hmmm, nobody in sight. There
were bottles of wine and empty glasses on the tasting bar, but no staff
or proprietor in sight. 
Gee,
we wondered to ourselves, could we have actually discovered an authentic
self-service tasting room? Hey, what if we just poured ourselves
an ounce or two ...or maybe three. Despite the obvious temptation, a stunt
like that could easily get us sideways with the owner, not a place we
ever want to be. After about 5 to 10 minutes, we began to wonder if Pipestone
was closed, and they just forgot to lock up the place. Finally, assuming
that no one had seen us arrive, Dave went back out to the car and actually
honked the horn - more than a little mortifying (i.e. honk, honk... "hey,
get out here and pour us some wine"). But soon thereafter, a friendly
lady carrying a small child came in, introduced herself as Florence, and
explained apologetically that she'd gone in to get the baby up from a
nap. We probably looked like rowdy bunch (after all, we did honk
the horn ) and she had the baby to deal with, so excusing herself, she
went to get her husband. Always happy to welcome visitors to his fledging
winery, Jeff cited Pipestone's popularity at the aforementioned Paso Robles
Wine Festival, and apologized in advance that he didn't have enough of
his Reserve Syrah to pour at the tasting room. Jeff chatted with us about
the vineyards, and about their use of Feng Shui around the property (literally
"wind and water" - Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese study of the surrounding
environment and its effects on health and wealth). Jeff says they've used
the philosophy extensively at Pipestone to determine vineyard locations
and placement of vines. Of course, he also said that sometimes it (Feng
Shui) flew in the face of conventional winegrowing wisdom, such as when
the vines are desperate for water but Feng Shui wisdom declares "not yet."
So, Jeff tries to strike a balance between philosophy and reality. Seems
very wise to me. Some very nice wines - this winery is definitely an up-and-comer.
Tasted at Pipestone:
2000 Pipestone Viognier - Paso Robles. $14. Floral and apricot-scented nose. Clean and fruity mouthfeel, long finish. Tasty. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
2000 Pipestone Grenache Rosé - Paso Robles. $12. Very fruity, even dense nose. Crisp and dry, yet very fruity across the palate, with long tasty finish. These 3rd leaf vines yielded 12 tons originally, but was cut back to 4.5 tons. 15.8% alcohol. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1999 Pipestone Mélange - Paso Robles. $17. Nice stemmy and slightly smoky nose, with a fleshy mouthfeel, and slightly herbaceous fruit. A Chaneauneuf-style blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and 10% Mourvedre. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1999 Pipestone Syrah - Paso Robles. $18. Blackberry and floral nose. Young mouthfeel, but lots of structure and fruit, and a long finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
Arrived at Dunning 1:50. Founded by Bob Dunning and family in 1991, Dunning Vineyard is located at the end of Niderer Rd, about a mile or so from neighboring Pipestone. Tucked into a small canyon and pretty much off the beaten track, Bob has been quietly making some of the area's nicer Bordeaux-based varietals. But, although Dunning has been concentrating on the usual mainstays of Cab, Merlot, and Zin, plans are being made to plant some Rhone varietals as well. Production is about 1,000 cases currently, with plans to increase to 3,000 cases. Out at 2:20.
Tasted at Dunning:
2000 Dunning Chardonnay - Paso Robles. $16. Nice clean, fruity, and slightly buttery nose. Medium-full mouthfeel, nice balance, toasty finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
1999 Dunning Merlot Estate - Paso Robles. $20. Nice fleshy and stemmy fruit. Somewhat chewy mouthfeel, nice and tasty fruit, long finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
1999 Dunning Cabernet Sauvignon Estate - Paso Robles. $23. Nice aromas of cassis with a hint of chocolate and stem. Medium-full mouthfeel, nice cherry fruit, long finish. 20% Cab Franc. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1999 Dunning Zinfandel Select Ranches - Paso Robles. $22. Nose of slightly stemmy raspberry-cherry fruit. Lots of spicy raspberry flavor with a slightly tart back end, and long finish. 10% Cab Franc. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
NV Dunning Vin De Casa - Paso Robles. $12. Nice fruity nose. Appealing mouthfeel, very fruity taste throughout, smooth slightly soft finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
Saturday, June 2, 2001
Arrived at Garretson about 10:30am. Arriving in Paso Robles in
1994, Mat Garretson became one of the area's biggest promoters, due in
not small part to his establishing the Viognier Guild (a group of loosely-
knit
Rhone producers), which soon became one of the biggest wine festivals
in California - Hospice du Rhone. Even while honing his retail skills
during roles as Sales and Marketing Director for Eberle, and Brand Manager
for Wild Horse winery, Mat has constantly trumpeted the cause of Rhone
varietals and started making a few wines for his own label in 1997. So,
it all seemed inevitable that Mat and family would open up their own winery
some day. Well, the day finally arrived this past April, with the Garretsons
establishing the new venture in a small industrial park just off Hwy 46
East. At first glance, the place looks anything but winery-related. In
fact, I thought the place was a dead-ringer for a tire store. Yeah, "Big
G" tires.
The interesting, if often difficult to pronounce names for Mat's wines come from his Celtic background. With access to so many of the fine vineyards around Paso, Garretson will be producing some very fine wines.
Tasted at Garretson:
2000 Garretson Viognier The Spunog Cnoc - Fralich Vnyd, Paso Robles. $20. Apricot and peach aromas. Slightly spicy and peppery, with a nice fruity streak from start to finish. Aroma/Taste: A-/A-
1999 Garretson Syrah Rosé The Celeidh - Paso Robles. $16. Light strawberry and slight stemmy aroma. Tasty and fruity, with a crisp dry finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
NV Garretson Glimigrim - Paso Robles. $16. Ripe blackberry and stems in the nos. Slightly burnished and stemmy mouthfeel, with a meaty-tasting finish. A blend of 75% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre, 10% Grenache from the '98/'99 vintages. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
1999 Garretson Syrah The Corcairghorm - Fralich Vnyd, Paso Robles. $30. Big somewhat dense nose. Oaky on the palate, with lots of spicy fruit trying to support it through the long finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1998 Garretson Syrah The Aisling Late Bottled - Paso Robles. $28. Slightly "late-harvest" in the nose, with lots of sweet very ripe aromas. Fleshy mouthfeel, seems to get a bit lean through the long finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
1999 Garretson Syrah The Finné - Alban Vnyd, Edna Valley. $60. Nose of spicy blackberry, shoe polish, burnt rubber, and steak. Huge and chewy mouthfeel, very primal right now, but what a big wine. Aroma/Taste: A-/B+
2000 Garretson Late Harvest Roussanne The Berwyn - Rozet Vnyd, Paso Robles. $30. Nose of peach, pear and floral aromas. Lovely mouthfeel, very floral and spicy and smooth throughout. Aroma/Taste: B+/A-
Arrived at Rio Seco about 11:30. Owned by longtime residents Tom
and Carol Hinkle, the winery is 
purchasing
fruit, while waiting for their 31 acre Estate vineyards of Zin, Cabernet,
Syrah, Roussanne, and other Rhone varietals to start producing. Production
is about 1200-1300 cases per year, with the winery ramping up to about
3000 cases for 2001. Chatted with Carol Hinkle about all the trials and
tribulations of running a family winery. And as it turns out, she and
Dave Chan knew a lot of the same local people (he's an SLO native), so
they had a nice little reunion of sorts, thus allowing Dave to regale
us once more with his firefighting exploits with the Forestry Service.
(This became another running joke, with Dave always reminding us that
the "...the flames were this high.") It got even funnier after
Carol asked Dave if he knew some local doctor, and Dave replied something
like, "...oh yeah, he was the doctor that delivered me." It was all I
could do to muzzle myself to keep from blurting out to Larry "...let's
go kick his ass."
Very nicely appointed place, and Carol is a great host. I'm looking forward to trying their Estate wines next time through Paso.
Tasted at Rio Seco:
1998 Rio Seco Pinot Noir - Monterey Co. $16. Fleshy mouthfeel; bit of strawberry and cola, with a touch of green olive. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Rio Seco Petite Sirah - Paso Robles. $18. Dense and somewhat stemmy nose. Fleshy and tannic mouthfeel, with flavors of blackberry, light spice and olive. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Rio Seco Cabernet Sauvignon - Cougar Ridge Vnyd, Paso Robles. $24. Ripe cassis nose. Fairly fruity if ripe mouthfeel, slightly austere but long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Rio Seco Zinfandel - Monterey Co. $18. Burnished and very ripe in the nose, the wine picks up a few herbaceous qualities on the palate, and the long finish gets a bit dry. Aroma/Taste: B/B
NV Rio Seco Zinfandel Multi Vintage - Paso Robles. $21. Nice Zinny nose of raspberry and boysenberry. Nice fleshy mouthfeel, somewhat burnished boysenberry fruit, long finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1998 Rio Seco Viongerie - Monterey Co. $18. Pleasant orange floral-scented nose. Spicy on the palate, with a bit of tang on the finish. Nearly 50/50 Viognier and Orange Muscat. Aroma/Taste: B/B
Arrived at Penman Springs about 12:15. Established in 1996 at the former Baron Vineyard location (this was also Grey Wolf's first location), Penman Springs is owned by Carl and Beth McCasland. After investing much time and energy on the property and vines, the McCasland's hired Larry Roberts (a.k.a. Dr. Fermento) as winemaker for their first crush in 1998. Friendly place, and the wines show promise.
Tasted at Penman Springs:
1998 Penman Springs Muscat Blanc - Paso Robles. Lightly floral and spicy in the nose. Light-moderate mouthfeel, nice aperitif wine. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Penman Springs Chardonnay - Edna Valley. Slight apple/pineapple aromas in the
nose. Nice, lightly crisp, good mouthfeel and long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1999 Penman Springs Merlot - Paso Robles. Fleshy and slightly stemmy nose. Sweet, slightly stemmy, but also seems quite oaky in mouthfeel and overall taste. 4th leaf on this fruit. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
1999 Penman Springs Meritage - Paso Robles. A bit oaky on the nose, with a slight touch of green leaf throughout nose and mouth, which seems mostly due to a high percentage of Monterey Co fruit. 60% Cab Franc. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Penman Springs Cabernet Sauvignon - Paso Robles. Nice cassis nose. Not shy on oak, and tasty if a bit thin in flavor across the palate. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1999 Penman Springs Syrah - Monterey Co. Nice fleshy nose and mouth, slightly sweet and candied, with a bit of heat noted on back end. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1999 Penman Springs Petite Sirah - Monterey Co. Dense black-fruit nose. Big chewy and somewhat tannic, with a slight beet taste to the long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
Arrived at BonZarlo about 12:50. Releasing their 1st vintage in 1998, partners Sam Di Carlo and Joe Bonzi have been friends since childhood. Sited on a 75-acre horse ranch at the junction of Hwy 46 and Estrella Rd, the BonZarlo tasting room and setting is particularly attractive - more barn on the outside, but spacious and Spanish/Tuscan villa-looking on the inside. Currently purchasing fruit, the pair is also planting 15 acres of Tempranillo and Cab Franc and will undoubtedly be increasing production. John Munch (Le Cuvier) is consulting winemaker. Cool picture of Sam, here on the left, looking like he might be saying, "I'll pour you a wine you can't refuse." Very nice guy - Sam even gave me some very excellent labels that I'll be posting soon. Another comer!
Tasted at BonZarlo:
1999 BonZarlo Chardonnay - Paso Robles.$18. Slightly smoky and burnished quality. Very nice balance, crisp fruity finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1998 BonZarlo Tempranillo - Paso Robles.$24. Ripe nose, slightly sweet and smoky. Dry mouthfeel, nice balance, spicy medium-long finish. From Castoro fruit. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1998 BonZarlo Cabernet Franc - Paso Robles.$18. Burnished, tannic and somewhat dry and stern mouthfeel, moderately fruity, long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 BonZarlo Cabernet Sauvignon - Paso Robles.$26. Toasty and slightly burnished nose, with a medium-full mouthfeel, and long finish. From Casa de Caballos fruit. Aroma/Taste: B/B+
1998 BonZarlo Zinfandel - Paso Robles.$25. Nice Zinny, ripe and fruity nose. Moderately fruity mouthfeel fleshy taste, long finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
Arrived at Chumeia about 1:25. Established in 2000 by Lee Nesbitt and a consortium of 4 other previous Meridian employees. Brand new setting on Hwy 46 East, in fact they are still working on the front landscaping. One of the partners, regional sales manager John Stipicevich, chatted with us and gave us a brief tour of the facility. Outsourcing their fruit right now, Chumeia has 4 acres of Cabernet planted, will plant another 12 acres of Zin, Syrah, and Petite Sirah next Spring. These are very nice wines now - but could be even better when the Estate fruit comes on line. A winery to watch.
Tasted at Chumeia:
1999 Chumeia Viognier - California. $12. Big and rich nose. Nice mouthfeel, very good balance, tasty long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1999 Chumeia Chardonnay - California.$10. Driven by lots of butter and oak in the nose and mouth, which adds to the impression of residual sweetness - in sort of a KJ style. But the wine is so balanced and tasty, it's hard to ignore, and is quite a bargain at $10. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1998 Chumeia Chardonnay - Central Coast. $16. Excellent combination of tropical and citrusy aromas. Beautiful mouthfeel, lots of fruit, very good balance, long finish. Aroma/Taste: A-/B+
1998 Chumeia Merlot - California.$16. Slightly burnished fleshy and stemmy fruit in the nose. Moderate-full mouthfeel, plummy and fleshy, with a medium-long slightly oaky finish. Napa fruit. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Chumeia Zinfandel - Central Coast.$16. Nose of slightly burnished and ripe raspberry-boysenberry fruit. Tasty and toasty mouthfeel, nice balance and long off-sweet finish. Fruit from Westside and Arroyo Grande. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1999 Chumeia Silver Nectar - California.$8. Very seductive nose of floral, grassy, and tropical aromas. Surprisingly easy on the palate without seeming thin, with a long tasty finish. 60% Semillion, 40% Muscat. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
Arrived at Eberle about 10:30. Arguably the most well-know winery in Paso Robles, and with the huge wine lineup, attractive tasting room, and storage cave tours it's easy to see why. Already known for his Cabs, Gary Eberle caught the Rhone-varietal bug and was one of the area's early advocates for Syrah and Rhone blends. This place can really get jumping on weekends, but we arrived early enough to not have to jostle around the bar. Rick poured us 12 wines - just about the whole list.
Tasted at Eberle:
2000 Eberle Chardonnay - Paso Robles.$16. Slightly sweet in nose and mouth, with a crisp and tasty finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
2000 Eberle Syrah Rosé - Paso Robles.$11.
Somewhat stemmy, musty and burnished in the nose. Nice mouthfeel, good fruit, nice aftertaste. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Eberle Cotes du Robles - Paso Robles.$14. Big and fruity nose. Fleshy mouthfeel, with a bit of stem, and nice off-sweet finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B
1999 Eberle Sangiovese - Paso Robles.$16. Ripe and burnished dried cherry nose. Long, and very drying finish. Wants for more fruit on the palate. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1999 Eberle Zinfandel - Steinbeck Vnyd, Paso Robles.$16. Lightly Zinny and stemmy in the nose. Dry, tight and somewhat tannic mouthfeel. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1998 Eberle Zinfandel - Sauret Vnyd, Paso Robles.$18. A bit closed in the nose, with background notes of black cherry and raspberry. Slightly bitter and coarse in mouthfeel -could use more fruit. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1999 Eberle Barbera - Paso Robles.$18. Smoky and slightly ash-scented fruit. Tasty off-sweet smoky finish, and nice aftertaste. Aroma/Taste: B/B+
1999 Eberle Syrah - Steinbeck Vnyd, Paso Robles.$20. Floral, burnished and creamy in the nose, a bit bitter in mouthfeel, with a long oaky and tannic finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1999 Eberle Syrah - Reid Vnyd, Paso Robles.$20. Largely floral nose with some rubber tones. Fleshy off-sweet mouthfeel, long fruity finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1998 Eberle Cabernet Sauvignon - Paso Robles.$25. Ripe and burnished, yet a bit green in aromas. Easy mouthfeel, long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
1999 Eberle Cabernet/Syrah - Paso Robles.$24. Nose of cassis, shoe polish, and oak. Tasty and spicy mouthfeel, with lots of fruit and spice through the finish. Aroma/Taste: B+/B+
1996 Eberle Cabernet Sauvignon - Paso Robles.$35. Tobacco-scented cassis, with a green streak in the background. Moderate mouthfeel, weaker aged flavors, with a moderately long finish. Aroma/Taste: B/B
Wrap up: covered a whole lot of territory, especially considering most of these visits took place during Hospice du Rhone weekend. Other than HdR itself, the highlight of the trip had to be the many opportunities we had to visit with winery proprietors and/or winemakers. It still amazes me that despite the growth of wine in California (or, maybe because of the growth), there still seem to be lots of family and individual enterprises springing up. And no place shows this more than the Central Coast in general, and Paso Robles in particular.
Hot prospects: Linne Calodo, Pipestone, Chumeia, and BonZarlo. Most improved: JanKris, and yes, Pesenti. With all of the Turley/Ehren Jordan fans salivating about this new venture, it will be very interesting to see what kind of wines will be released from this label.
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