Winemaker Notes
Deep garnet in color, this wine opens with a pops of bright red fruit, explosive raspberry and blackberry take hold and are carried through the entire palette, followed by a touch of spice to round it out. This Zins structure has finesse, and power and a glossy finish. Take a sip and you’ll be up on the Paper Street Vineyard, with its sweeping views and exceptional terroir. The vines are cloned from the Dante Dusi Vineyard – now you know what happens when you combine legacy and fortitude
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Deep, brilliant purple. Ripe dark fruit and floral aromas take on vanilla and baking spice nuances as the wine opens up. Juicy and expansive on the palate, offering concentrated blackberry, blueberry, cola and spice-cake flavors that turn sweeter on the back half. Shows fine clarity and spicy lift on the sharply focused, persistent finish, which features velvety tannins and repeating florality.
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Jeb Dunnuck
With more depth as well as complexity, the deeper plum/purple-colored 2017 Zinfandel Paper Street Vineyard offers impressive blackberry and plum fruits, notes of cigar, peppery herbs, and candied orange, medium to full body, and a balanced, lengthy style that's going to keep for 7-8 years in cold cellars.
Unapologetically bold, spice-driven and jammy, Zinfandel has secured its title as the darling of California vintners by adapting well to the state's diverse microclimates and landscapes. Born in Croatia, it later made its way to southern Italy where it was named Primitivo. Fortunately, the imperial nursery of Vienna catalogued specimens of the vine, and it later made its way to New England in 1829. Parading the true American spirit, Zinfandel found a new home in California during the Gold Rush of 1849. Somm Secret—California's ancient vines of Zinfandel are those that survived the neglect of Prohibition; today these vines produce the most concentrated, ethereal and complex examples.
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.