Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The deep ruby/purple colored 2013 Fracture EXT (100% Syrah aged 24 months in barrel) is a heavenly beauty that marries a rare mix of incredible richness and power with a graceful, lively, weightlessness that needs to be tasted to be believed. Giving up phenomenal notes of creme de cassis, jammy blackberries, licorice, toasted spice and liquid violets, this insanely pure Syrah offers full-bodied richness, an unctuous, seamless, sexy texture, sweet tannin and a killer finish. It's the greatest Syrah I've tasted from Paso Robles, and while it's already hard to resist, it should keep easily through 2026.
-
Wine Spectator
Rich and powerfully built, with bold aromas of blueberry, licorice and black olive leading to concentrated, plush flavors of smoky dark chocolate and orange zest that linger toward big, ripe tannins. Drink now through 2026.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
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.