Winemaker Notes
Blend: 70% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Even more impressive is the 2011 Seventeen Forty Reserve. A blend of 70% Cabernet Franc and 30% Merlot that spent 16 months in 70% new French oak, it possesses complex notes of tobacco leaf, black currants, lead pencil shavings and crushed flowers to go with a voluptuously textured, rich, yet focused and structured palate. The purity and balance here are impressive and this beauty will continue to shine through 2021. Drink now-2021.8
-
Wine Enthusiast
This is an unusual blend of 70% Cabernet Franc and 30% Merlot. It's full-bodied and rich in black cherries, currants, cola, sugared coffee and cedar, with a long, spicy finish that lasts the better part of a minute. It's also tannic, and while the official alcohol reading is 14.2% by volume, feels hotter than than that. Delicious and refined, but it's hard to see it developing in the bottle, so drink over the next few years.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
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.