Winemaker Notes
Awesome notes of blackcurrants, cassis, toasted spice, graphite, and violets give way to a powerful, sexy wine that has a Napa-like opulence and sexiness.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Passing By is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon blended with 11% Petit Verdot and 7% Syrah. More black fruits, asphalt, tobacco, and earth emerge from the glass, and it’s one of the more overtly powerful, full-bodied, dense wines in the lineup. It’s terrific, but do your best to hide bottles for 3-4 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Passing By Cabernet Sauvignon has a medium ruby color and pure, alluring scents of cassis, milk chocolate, licorice, dried herbs and lavender. The medium-bodied palate is intense, plush and layered with fine, silty tannins and a very long, layered finish. Rating: 96+
As Paso Robles, California has soared in number of wineries and gained in popularity, Cabernet Sauvignon has firmly taken root as the region’s number one varietal. Alone, it accounts for just over 40% of plantings and is grown throughout both the western and eastern sides of the appellation. Though viticulture here dates back to the 18th century, Cabernet Sauvignon didn’t emerge as a significant grape here until the 1970’s. But since then it has definitely made up for lost time.
Legendary winemaker and consultant Andre Tchelistcheff first recognized Paso’s potential with Cabernet Sauvignon in the early 1960’s. The calcareous soil and dramatic diurnal temperature changes of Paso’s westside particularly intrigued him. Today modern winemaking techniques and focused experimentation with various clones, rootstocks and vineyard strategies optimize the region's ideal combination of soil and climate to deliver the best fruit possible.
The results are evident in the glass. Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon can be mesmerizing, with rich aromas and flavors of blackberry, cassis, black cherry, graphite, toasty oak, vanilla and spice. The structure, balance and unbridled opulence of these wines impress from first sip to last. Not surprisingly, Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignons have steadily grown in reputation, not just in the U.S., but around the world.