2010 Torrin Akasha, USA, California, Paso Robles, Wine Review

Nice to try these wines with some age on them, but honestly, they were bit young and are still big. For my tastes, that is just fine. 95% Syrah with 5% Grenache from Paso Robles. Purple in color, ruby at the rime, opaque and bright. The nose has black raspberries with a slight dishwasher note (often found in wines that may have seen some heat at some point) but that minimized as the wine opened with a nice earthy note. Full bodied. On the palate, much cleaner. Black raspberries, smoke and earthiness. Moderate acidity. Nice finish. While perhaps not a pristine bottle, this was still outstanding. About at peak. Drink over the next eight to ten years.

Grade:

Score:

Vintage:

2010

Current Price:

$122.00USD

50 California Central Coast Wines You Should Be Drinking Right Now

The California Central Coast, identified as Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo (and its main wine region Paso Robles) and Monterey is California the way it used to be, or at the very least, California the way people want it to be: small towns, charming architecture, varied history of Missions and Indians, and coastlines for miles; a slow pace, clean air and a belief that no one real really works very hard. But the area has been home to grape growing since the Spanish brought vine cuttings from Spain via Mexico in the late 1700s and winemakers and vineyard managers have been working hard ever since. To celebrate this beautiful region IntoWine.com offers these 50 wines that represent the diversity of the California Central Coast.

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In my last article, I listed the Top 75 French Wines to Try Before You Quit Drinking . In this article I look at the “non-dump bucket” list for wines from California. This proved to be a different task. First, very few wineries have a long track record of making great wine. Secondly, while California is diverse, it does not have the diversity of climates and terroir and grape varietals of France. Still, it does produce some of the best wines in the world and any wine lover should make it a point to try as many of them as they can. Here is my list: 1. Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon – It’s hard to pick the first wine. This one is a great wine in every vintage and has been for a long time. Expensive but still possible to afford and made in large enough quantities to be found in grocery stores. Every lover of Cabernet should try this once.

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2008 Hospice du Rhone Events: Highs & Lows of American Rhone-style Wines Tasted

The Rhone Report: About Rhone and Rhone-Style Wines and Winemakers is part of an ongoing series. The 16th annual Hospice du Rhone events in Paso Robles, California from May 1 to 3, 2008 was an opportunity to consider Rhone-style wines from a fresh perspective. Unlike most tasting opportunities, these events included Rhone-style wines from the Rhone Valley itself (51 wineries), elsewhere in France (4 wineries) as well as from Spain (4 wineries), Australia (17 wineries), South Africa (6 wineries), Chile (2 wineries), Argentina (1 winery) and the United States. The American wines were mostly from California (144 wineries), but a few examples from Arizona (2 wineries) and Washington State (5 wineries) were also included. While this is a California-dominated event, and while many of the Rhone Valley’s best producers aren’t represented, there is still sufficient European and other entries to make for interesting comparisons and contrasts. The events included two general tastings and a series of focused seminars.

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America’s Best Rhone Style Red Wines: 11th Annual Rhone Rangers Tasting Reviewed

The Rhone Report: About Rhone and Rhone-Style Wines and Winemakers is part of an ongoing series. Last month we discussed the white Rhone style wines offered at the 2008 Rhone Rangers tasting event at Fort Mason in San Francisco on March 18. This month we turn to the reds, of which we tasted 50. Among those we tasted were some old favorites and some wineries or bottlings with which we were not yet familiar. We don’t pretend that we tasted a representative group of wines, because our sample was skewed to wines we have loved in the past and others about which we have heard positive comments.

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Discovering Paso Robles

In the summer of 2002, I embarked on a 3300 mile motorcycle tour of the California, Oregon , and Washington coasts, with strategic stops in the various wine regions along the way. The entire trek was amazing, but it was on this trip that I truly “discovered” the wines of Paso Robles. At the time, I knew the area as a producer of big, jammy zinfandels. What I quickly learned, however, was that the region produces an amazingly diverse collection of wines in as many different styles as there are vintners. It turns out that the varied topography of the Paso Robles AVA not only makes for great motorcycle touring, it has a microclimate to suit virtually any varietal you want to grow.

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2010 Torrin Akasha, USA, California, Paso Robles, Wine Review

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