Winemaker Notes
Blend: 50% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 20% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 Fulldraw comes from a site located just beside Jensen’s estate Booker Vineyard and is 50% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre and 20% Syrah. It has a gorgeous, Châteauneuf du Pape-like (it reminds me of Domaine de Marcoux’s Vieilles Vignes cuvée) perfume of red and black fruits, spice-box, incense, fennel and cured meats. Ethereally textured and elegant, yet also ripe, powerful and concentrated, it has ripe tannin, it’s an incredible wine that builds with time in the glass. While beautiful today, it will be even better with short term cellaring and keep through 2027.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre and 20% Syrah, the 2015 Fulldraw has a medium to deep garnet-purple color and opens with black and blue fruit notes of blackberries and blueberries with suggestions of licorice, tree bark and black soil, plus a waft of lavender. The medium to full-bodied palate has bags of elegance, with restrained, understated beauty and wonderful freshness, finishing long with velvety tannins supporting the perfumed fruit.
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.