Winemaker Notes
This wine, vibrant ruby in appearance, offers elegant yet concentrated aromas and flavors of ripe cherries and vanilla. Grenache wholeheartedly embraces chalky soils, translating them into a silky, mineral-laden structure. These positive attributes are why we chose Grenache as the driving force behind our 2017 Three Sisters Red. The addition of Syrah, Petite Sirah & Mourvèdre help polish the presentation of this wine. Incredibly focused fruit and supple, mid-weight tannin's play very nicely against the firm acid backbone. Possessing bright exuberance, this vintage will play nicely with a variety of food pairings but has the etiquette to be sipped on its own. The Wine Compostion is 54% Grenache, 26% Syrah, 14% Petite Sirah & 6% Mourvèdre.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Light in the glass, this blend starts with aromas of fresh strawberry, rose petals and dried cranberry. It’s bright and fun on the palate, with more strawberry-sorbet flavors that are lifted by wild mint, thyme and tarragon. It is immensely food-friendly, working with anything from lighter fish to heartier pork and poultry roasts.
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.