Winemaker Notes
Thepalate of the 2014 is very open right now for such a cellar-worthy wine, and is an outstanding pairing with a classic prime rib or barbecue brisket. After a few years it will be perfect with more complex dishes like a ragout of veal or lamb served with fresh pasta.
Blend: 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This flagship bottling is still a whopper of a wine. This vintage, a blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc and 12% Merlot, offers barely ripe black cherry, green peppercorn and charred fennel on the nose. The palate is loaded with both savory and ripe flavors, from roasted black plums and charred beef to oregano and dill. Very complex and chalky in texture.
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Wine Spectator
Shows a measure of finesse and restraint given the size, which is big and expressive, offering notes of plum, blackberry, baking spices and cedary oak. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Best from 2020 through 2032.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2014 Justin Isosceles is a big and powerful red wine forged from Bordeaux grape varieties—Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with some Cabernet Franc and Merlot. This wine shows up with excellent flavors of the black fruit, tar, and oak. (Tasted: October 30, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
The pioneer of Paso Robles, JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery was founded in 1981 by Justin Baldwin and is known for crafting world-class wines using Bordeaux grape varieties. Once the grapes are harvested, JUSTIN Winemaker Scott Shirley and his team sort, select, age, taste, blend, and decide what goes into every bottle. JUSTIN consistently receives top honors around the world, establishing itself as a leader in new-world Bordeaux-style winemaking. JUSTIN's Vineyard Estate features a Tasting Room, luxury five-star accommodations at the JUST INN, and a MICHELIN-starred Restaurant-making it one of the only wineries on the Central Coast to offer all three amenities. JUSTIN also has a downtown Paso Robles tasting room where guests can enjoy their wines. Visit to discover what makes JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery so exceptional.
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.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.