Winemaker Notes
Anna’s Red is a wine that does not highlight any distinctive varietal quality but instead celebrates the contents of its blend. The majority of the wine is composed of Syrah and Mourvedre, bringing notes of boysenberry, blueberry, and sagebrush to the glass. Petite Sirah brings deep purples to the wine’s appearance and contributes aromas of chocolate and black pepper to the wine’s flavor. The small portion of Cinsaut and Grenache lifts the floral aromatics and brings bright red-fruit flavor and a wine of balance. The final component, Touriga Nacional, adds aromatics of violet, mint, and cedar while also layering in substantial tannin to bolster the structure of the wine.
Blend: 26% Mourvèdre, 23% Syrah, 20% Petite Sirah, 15% Cinsaut, 10% Touriga Nacional, 6% Grenache
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Seamless and elegant, with appealing raspberry, mocha and spice flavors that linger on the zesty finish. Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Petit Sirah, Touriga Nacional and Cinsault. Drink now through 2029.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.