Central Coast

• Edna Valley
• Mt. Harlan
• Paso Robles
  • Willow Creek

This was opened as part of #BrownsSuckWinesDont.  While watching the Browns move to 1-29 over the last two seasons, I console myself drinking great bottles.  This one was no exception.  Pop and pour, it took about 30 minutes to get going and kept improving from there.  Purple in color.  The nose is gorgeous with black raspberries, violets, black pepper, roasted meats and graphite.  Deep and complex on the nose.  On the palate, this is both contemplativve and delicious.  Black raspberries, slight bacon fat, slight black olive, leather, smoke and char.  Great lush texture.  This is a big wine

This was a great wine, but I had hoped it to show a bit better.  I gave it 12 hours of air and that wasn't enough.  There is a glass left in the bottle and I am curious how it will show later today.  That said, it was an excellent wine.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, white pepper, roasted herbs and char.  On the palate, there is a nice texture.  The wine is quite tight and seemingly ver fully unwound.  Plenty of black raspberry fruit with an underlying char.  Nice finish.  We served with a variety of chocolate desserts and that seemed to work well.  

I had been hearing good things about this winery so I bought a bottle.  It did not disappoint.  Purple in color.  The nose has raspberries, bramble, spice and black cherries.  Great texture.  Silky yet full bodied.  On the palate, this is juicy with great raspberry and dark cherry fruit.  Firm tannins.  Great acidity.  Nice finish. A delicious bottle of wine with a nice complexity.  Seems like it might have some upside to develop.  

Opened as part of my #BrownsSuckWinesDont program where I punish myself watching the Cleveland Browns and reward myself with interesting wines.  A new discovery for me, this was very good.  Purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, and slight black olives.  On the palate, this is juicy with great fruit.  A very lively wine.  Pop and pour it continued to get better until the last glass about 10 hours later.  I would hold these for now as there is good upside potential or at least give it plenty of air.  

Opened while watching the Cleveland Browns lose again.  I needed something strong that wouldn't make me try to hard.  While this fit the bill, in fact, this will be a couple or few points better in a five years.  Purple inc olor.  The nose has black raspberries, white pepper, slight roasted meats and spice.  On the palate, black raspberries and roasted meats carry thru.  A bit of spice.  Deep but tightly packed.  Juicy acidity.  Delicious.  Nice finish.  

Another nice wine from this producer.  This is a GSM blend with some other grapes as well.  Purple in color.  The nose has black and red raspberries, black pepper and spice.  On the palate, there is a nice varietal complexity.  Easy dirnking but more than that.  Nice texture.  Some depth.  Good with food.  Youthful, there is no hurry on this but drinking well today.  

As to be expected, this is quite young and tight.  Yet, the nose is so precise it should develop beautifully.  Black raspberries, black pepper, roasted meats and violets.  On the palate, this took some time to open.  Vigorous tannins.  Black raspberry fruit tightly packed.  Deep.  Long finish.  Don't open for a few years without a long decant.  

My favorite of the 12, 13 and 14 trio of these wines (though all are good).  This also seems to be the one with the most upside potential.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is dusty with black raspberries, black pepper and slightly roasted meats.  On the palate this is flat out delicious.  Deep with black raspberries, black cherries, juicy acidity and some chocolate.  Long finish.  Tightly packed it explodes in the glass.  Great wine.  

Inky purple in color.  The nose has cedar, black raspberries and black pepper.  On the palate, jammy black raspberries with some black cherries and chocolate.  Good acidity.  This is a very rich and open Syrah but still quite young.  it will be interesting to see how these develop with ten or twenty years on them.  I think they will be just fine and not too dissimilar from the better Northern Rhone reds.  Time will tell.  

I love this bottling and vintage.  The oak treatment is perfect for the fruit.  Golden in color.  The nose is clean with peach and slight ginger.  Creamy texture.  On the palate, apples, peaches and just a bit sweetness.  Deep and complex.  Long finish.  Great acidity.  Worked great with food but was delicious on its own.  Very impressive.