Having recently returned home from a four day trip to Paso Robles, I thought it beneficial to transcribe some of my thoughts and impressions from such a remarkable place. No tasting notes, scores or any bottle specific comments, but rather more overarching thoughts after speaking with Jason Haas, Anthony Yount, Neil Collins and other interesting figures. For many here, Paso Robles is still somewhat of an unknown. Outside of direct-to-consumer sales, little of the reputable wine seems to make it outside of California and I believe this heavily impacts the impression of the region nationally.
No doubt my recent visit was to taste the wines, but more importantly my goal was to build a “context” around the region and producers. I wanted to create a more accurate framework for what the region really was, what the producers and people were trying to accomplish and see the region through a more global lens with consideration to other winemaking regions. More than anything I wanted to find out the identity of the place so that I could relate to it myself and communicate it to others as well.
There is no doubt in my mind that the last five to ten years are really ground-zero for Paso Robles although many important, foundational years preceded this period. In terms of capital and human energy, the region has really reached critical mass. The amount of new investment in the area over a short period of time is frankly startling. This consists both of more home-grown investments by those like Saxum and L’Aventure (to the extent that Stephan is home-grown, although he is undoubtedly “Paso”) to those of outside investment in recent years like Law Estates. Multiple wine tunnel projects have begun and state-of-the-art facilities are being constructed that very truly rival those of Napa Valley. Along with these outside investments are expectations - expectations of quality and consequently, critical review by those in the high places of wine journalism.
With that in mind, I want to two divide two distinct but relevant ideas that began to emerge for me over this period - that of fashion and that of identity. Fashion is neither good, bad or indifferent. I really don’t intend to make judgments about matters of fashion either way. However it is by its nature more transient. Identity on the other hand is a more permanent idea - although it may be unique to any one place or individual, it is more intrinsic by its own nature.
I believe the fashion in many places of Paso Robles is in keeping with the rest of the wine world right now. Like Napa Valley, Chateauneuf du Pape and even Bordeaux, the trend has been towards that of early drinking, approachable wines with power and concentration. As mentioned earlier, I’m not saying this is good, bad or indifferent - it merely is. However it is the reputation and frame of reference over time with these regions that we are able to distinguish this as fashion and a more transient taste. We have decades and decades of reference for the “old world” and even decades in Napa Valley as well.
Realistically, we do not truly have this type of historical context for Paso Robles in any profound way and consequently it’s easy to assume that what’s fashionable is really the “identity” of Paso Robles. By that I mean largely scaled wines that are generally hot, low acid, loosely structured and fragile over time. Honestly, I do not believe this to be the case. This is merely the contemporary period of the wine world and simply the time in which Paso Robles presumably arrived on the international stage. Undoubtedly, the generosity in climate has allowed Paso Robles producers to make a rapid ascent among wine critics, but this is merely a matter of style. Even moreso than Napa Valley, Paso Robles can hang fruit longer with less concern of mildew pressure and greater natural acidity and tannin in some varieties (notably Grenache and Mourvedre). However this is ultimately a decision by growers and winemakers, not one of nature.
With all that said, I want to relate what I believe is the real identity of Paso Robles. I believe that Paso Robles is a profound place to grow Grenache, Mourvedre and White Rhone varieties. Truly, the white wines from Paso Robles are among its greatest values and they are interesting, fresh, deeply textured and balanced wines. Paso Robles also has an uncanny ability to grow numerous other varieties including Tannat, Tempranillo, Zinfandel and numerous others in an interesting and balanced way. However the greatness of Paso Robles Reds will likely be founded on Grenache and Mourvedre.
Please note, that I do not believe that Syrah is a particularly profound variety in Paso Robles and I believe that it takes a great amount of work and a very specific site to consistently produce Syrah that is interesting and faithful in terms of varietal character. More than anything I believe that the amount of Syrah planted in Paso Robles early on and now being acidulated, watered back, and being dressed up with oak belies the identity of Paso Robles. They age poorly, their character is disguised by winemaking techniques and while they have great appeal early on, they seem to quickly become uninteresting wines in a shockingly short period of time. I hope that does not seem disparaging to some producers, but I believe it takes a great deal of effort to make quality, interesting, long-lived Syrah in Paso Robles and I fear that the sheer quantity of average Syrah being produced is a poor ambassador of the region nationally. In reality, Syrah is a cool climate grape.
Of the now hundreds of producers in Paso Robles I’m convinced that three producers, Tablas Creek, Villa Creek and Denner are producing the most interesting, structured and textured wines that authentically represent the identity of Paso Robles. I cannot speak to Saxum as I have little experience with these wines due to their limited availability and I would not yet include some younger “garagiste” producers like Ryan Pease (Paix Sur Terre) until I have greater experience with them as well (although their futures are immensely bright). Even then, the reality is that Paso Robles is still very much in its infancy as vineyards mature in age and producers/growers understand their property.
Despite the rapid growth of Paso Robles, there exists hundreds upon hundreds of acres of beautiful, interesting property that remains untouched. Even established acreage under vine have not seen their potential realized as some farmers and property owners are capitalizing on the wine industry with limited familiarity with the culture of wine or winemaking. In many producers with great vineyard potential are making fruity, simple wines with little refinement and no established tradition. In that sense there exists a great deal of potential, planted and unplanted for growers and winemakers looking to make profound, interesting wines of character. The region is not lacking raw material, only those to reveal it into something of substance.
For Tablas Creek, Villa Creek and Denner I would hope that posters would seek these producers out and try for themselves if possible. The 2012 vintage has been especially good for Grenache in Paso Robles and they’ve made for wines with immense likability, a dense core of fruit, but with freshness, energy, texture, inner-perfume and mid-palate density. They offer appeal now, but I would expect to hold together well over time due to their inherent structure and acidity, but solid “stuffing” as well.
For those who are already familiar with Paso Robles and are interested in the 2013s in barrel, I found them more tautly structured, more chiseled, precise with more deeply pitched character. There’s freshness and good acidity in some cases due to the early harvest, but they’re not as expressive and generous as the 2012s were at this point last year. All the bones seem to be there, but it’s a bit tough to ascertain their true character. All in all they seem more serious and more masculine in contrast to the more feminine and generous 2012s.
I imagine I’ve lost many by now due to the sheer length of this post, hopefully that’s not the case. Over time I’ve found myself an advocate of Paso Robles, perhaps because it’s the first wine region in California that I’ve truly identified with. I don’t believe the romance of the rolling hills, sprawling oaks and inherent beauty of the region has misled me, I truly believe in the potential of this region and it’s ability to produce wines of true character and balance. Somewhat remote to the major cities of California and with little distribution east of the Sierra Nevada, I believe that engagement and context for this region is somewhat absent on this board. I hope I have some credibility, despite my short time here so far and meager post count to encourage others to engage with some of the producers themselves. If nothing else, perhaps a little context and framework to the story of Paso Robles has been added for others to enjoy.
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