Paso Robles

• Willow Creek

From Magnum and consumed over 3 days.  It was great on all three but probably at its best on day 2.  This is a blend of 68% Syrah and 32% Mourvedre  at 15.1% abv.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, slight plums, spice and a hint of old leather.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries with a lush texture.  Some char and spice.  Long finish.  This drinks easy and despite the alcohol and fruit forwardness, it is not a monster wine.  Nice depth and complexity.  Nice on its own, this would work well with roasted meats but worked very we

This wine is proof that Paso Robles can make world class Cabernets (in addition to Rhone Varietals).  The Daou brothers second vintage of this wine is very young but easily could be a 100 pointer with some bottle age and development.  As it, it is outstanding right now.  Inky purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, chocolate, graphite, cigar tobacco, and cedar.  Great texture.  Firm tannins.  Concentrated.  Nice balance.  On the palate, concentrated cassis with graphite, and chocolate and slight tobacco.  It unwinds in the glass.  Long finish.  If drinking

This is a blend of 48% Syrah, 22% Petite Sirah, 17% Grenache, 6% Mourvedre, 4% Tempranillo, and 3% Roussanne.  Wonderful wine that is just entering its prime drinking window.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, black cherries, spice, chocolate and char.  Lovely full bodied, almost seamless texture.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, loads of fruit but plenty of energy to keep it from being burdensome.  Layers of black raspberries, black cherries with underlying gravel and char.  Delicious.  Long finish.  This drinks great on its own and would w

This is a blend of 67% Syrah, 21% Grenache, and 12% Terret Noir.  Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, black raspberries, black licorice, spice and smoke.  Medium to full bodied.  Well balanced.  On the palate, this drinks very easy.  Black cherries and black raspberries with a bit of black licorice and pepper.  Nice finish.  An interesting wine but also an enjoyable one.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  This is nice on its own and will work well with food.  A nice choice for a burger or meatloaf.  

James Berry Vineyard is the home vineyard of Saxum and one of the great Rhone varietal vineyards in the world.  Mike Officer of Carlisle does a great job with his allotment.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, blueberries, black pepper, slight black olives and spice.  Full bodied.  Tannins are resolved.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Black raspberries, blueberries and spice with underlying char.  Long finish.  This is drinking well and about at peak.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  Nice on its own, this would work well with (Vegetarian) Chil

This is a blend of 43% Grenache, 29% Mourvedre, 18% Syrah, and 10% Counoise from Paso Robles.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black cherries, minerals, char, slight spice and a bit or candied raspberries.  Full bodied.  Great balance.  Lots of energy.  On the palate, this is delicious.  No sign of the 15.8%abv.  Loads of black cherries, black raspberries with a slight char and plenty of minerality.  Long finish.  This is young but drinking well now.  It will get better though.  Drink over the next twenty years.  Great on its own, it nee

This is a blend of 60% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 10% Mourvedre.  Torrin wines are bruisers, but at age 13, this one is just starting to calm down a bit.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black cherries, black pepper, roasted meat and leather.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Loads of black raspberries and some plums with underlying char and a nice minerality.  Long finish.  This should drink well for another ten to fifteen years.  It is nice on its own and would work well with a beef stew.  

Hard to believe that a 16 year old California Syrah could taste so youthful, but this bottle was bought on release and well stored.  82% Syrah, 13% Mourvedre, and 5% Grenache.  15.7% abv.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, roasted meat, roasted red peppers, white pepper and slight char.  Full bodied.  Well balanced.  Great texture.  Powerful yet agile, it is both huge and deft at the same time.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Medium tannins.  Loads of black raspberry fruit with some minerality, white pepper and char.  Long finish.  Tasting thru th

76% Syrah, 18% Mourvedre, and 6% Grenache.  This weighed in at 16.7% abv!  Again, this is a monster wine, but it doesn't drink like one.  No noticeable alcohol on the nose or palate.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, plums, White pepper, Roasted herbs and slight earthy/gamey meats.  Full bodied.  Great acidity.  On the palate, this has loads of fruit.  Black raspberries, black cherries and slight plums with a bit of black pepper and char.  Long finish.  This is a great wine if not quite up to the top vintages of Bone Rock, it is almost there.  It is

Really great showing for this bottle.  93% Syrah and 7% Grenache.  16.1% abv.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, roasted meats and roasted herbs, floral notes, white pepper and slight earthiness.  Full bodied.  Again, that Saxum lightness of being both enormous and light on its feet at the same time.  No sign of alcohol on the nose or palate.  On the palate, loads of black raspberry fruit with some roasted meats, minerality and juicy acidity.  Long finish.  Most tasters had this highly ranked.  Drinking youthfully.  This bottle was purchased