Once upon a time Paso Robles, CA was not on the fine wine map of the world. Thank goodness. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been there for us to discover in the mid 1990’s. Discover we did though and so we’ve seen first-hand the steady improvement in the wine and its reputation.

This year’s donation is a montage from some of our favorite and most highly rated Paso wineries. These rare bottles mark significant points in Paso winemaking. All purchased directly from the winery and properly stored. (Note: even with the best of storage conditions older bottles can be unpredictable.)

Tablas Creek—what a story! This winery is a collaboration with the legendary Chateau Beaucastel in the Rhone valley of France.

Full Circle Pinot Noir 2018—the fruit is from the personal vineyard of Tablas Creek co-founder Robert Hass.

Dianthus Rosé 2018

Esprit de Beaucastel 2010 Panoplie—an amazing California expression of the premier Rhone valley wine: Châteauneuf du Pape.

Roussanne 2020—point of personal prejudice: not well known perhaps, but if there could be only one white wine, Roussanne would be the keeper.

Linne Calodo—The winemaking skill of Matt Trevisan from the grape growing to the masterful blends are reflected in this sample. In two of the bottles Zinfandel is the dominant grape in the blend. Grenache dominates the two Rhone varietal blends.

Cherry Red 2014 zin

Outsider 2014 zin

Overthinker 2013 grenache

Rising Tides 2021 grenache

Turley—Turley’s purchase of the legacy Pesenti winery in 2000 was both cause and effect of recognizing Paso’s wine making potential.

Dusi Vineyards Zin 2008

Pesenti Zin 2017

Adelaida—This winery is rooted, literally, in some of Paso wines earliest vineyards and it was one of the first to create modern Paso winemaking. This is their signature Cabernet Sauvignon.

Viking Cabernet 2013

Alban—Even though John Alban’s vineyards aren’t in Paso—they are in the Edna Valley to the south—his commitment to Rhone wine varietals and to the wineries of the region has played an essential role in, well, everything.

Reva Syrah 2018

Sit-in with Jim Rotolo for "The Wild and the Innocent"

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