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I am not super familiar with Paso Robles and was even a bit apprehensive to go thinking all their wines were the big, over-extracted high alcohol fruit bombs I have had at times before. A couple friends and I went for the weekend, staying in San Luis Obispo and want to Paso one day and Santa Maria/LosOlivos the second.
On day one, we got there in the afternoon and decided to hit Paso before going to SLO to check in. I had originally vetoed Tobin James for the reasons above, but it was the first big winery we saw on our way in on the 46, so we went in. Very fun facility with a great outdoor area.
Photos of the entire trip here
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/...
At Tobin James, we tasted a ton of wines! Links below to each wine we tasted. I reviewed them all. Whew!
2009 Sauv Blanc 2010 Chard 2010 JGR Chard 2011 Rosé 2009 Chateau Le Cacheflo
2009 Primo 2009 Merlot 2009 Zinfandel Ballistic 2009 Syrah 2008 Petite Sirah
2009 Fat Boy 2009 Primitivo 2009 James Gang Zin 2009 Dusi VY Zin
2009 Blue Moon Reserve Zin 2007 James Gang Reserve Cab 2009 5 2008 Meritage
2008 Schist 2008 Blue Moon Reserve Cab
Next, nearly across the street, is Eberle. Great place with cave tours regularly for free and free tasting. Also, very good wines. Here, we enjoyed the
2010 Estate Chard 2010 Mill Road VY Viognier 2010 Cotes du Robles Blanc
2011 Syrah Rosé Full Boar Red Blend 2009 Sangiovese 2009 Barbera
2008 Cotes du Robles 2009 Zin 2008 Up Shiraz 2010 Syrah Steinbeck VY
2008 Cab/Syrah 2007 Estate Cab 2006 Barbera 2008 CoCaVin 2007 Love and Kisses
2007 Estate Reserve Cab 2010 Muscat Canelli 2007 Port
Our first full day the next morning started at another must-visit of Paso, Turley. They open earlier than most, at 9 AM. This is Zinfandel!
2005 Pesenti VY 2007 Grist VY 2010 Dusi VY 2009 Ueberroth VY 2009 Hayne VY
Then it was on to our "planned/recommended" locations. They started with Villa Creek. Great Rhone varietals. We tasted the
2010 Garnacha 2010 Willow Creek Cuvée 2009 Mas De Maha 2009 Damas Noir
Then on to Tablas Creek. Great Rhone blends and they even sell varietal vines of oddball Rhone grapes they brought in from Beaucastel in CDP. It concerned me a bit that our pourer didn't check the wines before pouring, as the Roussanne was corked. But she opened a new one once I pointed it out. We enjoyed tasting their
2010 Roussanne 2010 Antithesis 2009 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc
2010 Cotes de Tablas Blanc 2011 Patelin de Tablas Blanc 2010 Cotes de Tablas
2010 Mourvedre 2009 Esprit de Beaucastel 2010 Counoise
Then, my friend "Had" to see Justin, so we ventured up there. The place is nice with beautiful gardens and the Just-Inn looks like a fun quaint place to stay and the food from the restaurant smelled great. My only disappointment was that much of the wines in the flight were wines you can get anywhere and many of which we had before. The staff was attentive though. Here we tasted
2011 Sauv Blanc 2010 Chard Reserve 2010 Cab 2010 Right Angle 2010 Syrah
Then, off to L'Aventure. Another great stop if you like Rhone varietals done in Paso style with a French sensibility.
2011 Estate Rosé 2010 Optimus 2009 Plus 16 2009 Cab 2008 Estate Cuvée
Cypher (formerly Four Vines) was another must-see for a friend and we made it back here after missing it before by getting "lost" heading the wrong way. I highly recommend this place for a fun, funky style, lack of pretension and very high quality and tasty wines. Here we tasted
2011 Pistil Rosé 2011 Grenache Blanc 2010 Chard Los Alamos VY
2009 Freakshow Peasant GSM 2009 Freakshow Anarchy ZMS
2009 Freakshow Heretic Petite Sirah 2009 Freakshow Loco Tempranillo
2009 Freakshow Phoenix Syrah 2010 Freakshow ZinBitch 2009 Cypher Kiler Canyon VY
Next, was Bella Luna. This is a great place, so go see Sherman in the tasting room and enjoy some great wines!
2010 Estate Sangiovese 2008 Tempestuous Tempranillo 2009 Lot One Barbera
2008 Estate Riserva "Super Tuscan" 2010 Fighter Pilot Red Zinfandel
We finished up at Wild Horse. After some bold wines, some Pinot Noir was welcome as the day was ending. Some very tatsy wines here as well.
2011 Malvasia Bianca 2011 Verdelho 2011 Viognier 2010 Unbridled Chardonnay
2010 Blaufrankisch 2009 Unbridled Zinfandel 2009 Unbridled Syrah 2009 Unbridled Malbec
2009 Unbridled Merlot 2009 Unbridled Cabernet 2006 Cabernet
2009 Unbridled Pinot Noir Righetti VY 2010 Unbridled Pinot Noir
2009 Unbridled Pinot Noir Bien Nacido VY 2009 Cheval Sauvage Pinot Noir
By this point, it was 5 PM and we needed food. I highly recommend Eureka Burger in San Luis Obispo!
The next morning we were off to Santa Maria and Solvang, Los Olivos, etc. Separate forum post for that one. Many great wines, and there is not one of these wineries I wouldn't recommend you visiting!
Paso Robles Labor Day Weekend Recap
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2431026 - Reply by EMark, Sep 9, 2012.
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Do I understand this correctly LVO? You tasted over 100 wines just on the first day?
Well done. It clear to me, though, why those burgers tasted so good in the evening.
Thank you for the report. It makes me want to go up there.
I'm looking forward to your next report.
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3186324
- Reply by VegasOenophile, Sep 9, 2012.
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Yes, tasted all those wines. Tobin James and Eberle half day in the afternoon. Everything else was in one day. Spitting is your friend!
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2431026
- Reply by EMark, Sep 9, 2012.
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I agree with the spitting approach, but in my case, my mouth would had still felt a bit abused. I really do appreciate the good effort put out by dedicated individuals to continue the research that I freely steal from. ;-)
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1351373 - Reply by napagirl68, Sep 9, 2012.
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Nice write up!
I need to do a long weekend in Paso, since I tend to love Rhones from that area. My fav so far is Anglim winery, where I like every wine I have tasted.
I was at Eberle last Easter, as they were one of only a small few open that day. Beautiful scenery and nice deck. I wasn't too impressed with their wines, but did like the Cotes du Robles Blanc.
I highly recommend Anglim winery in Downtown Paso. I discovered them at SF Rhone Rangers a few years ago, and of all the wines at that event, I kept returning to Anglim's table. I haven't been to the tasting room yet, but I have ordered wine from them directly, and when lucky, I have found it in some wine shops. Anglim made my fav Mourvedre to date. As you can see below, it is sold out, but I found some at the Half Moon Bay Wine/Cheese shop. I was totally jazzed and bought what they had:
Mourvèdre Hastings Ranch Vineyard, Paso Robles 2007
Sold Out
Spicy white pepper framed by earthy dark berries, spice and smooth tannin. Retail 34.00
Food Pairings: seared ahi, beef short ribs, lamb shank, truffle chevre
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193160 - Reply by lingprof, Sep 16, 2012.
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Oh, you are making me want to go back to Paso so much!!! A lot of these are the same wineries I went to but some are new. Great choices and great report. Thank you VO!!!!
