Winemaker Notes
Blend: 63% Grenache, 25% Mourvèdre, 12% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Sticks and Stones is a blend of 63% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, and 12% Syrah. This cuvee always comes across like a Paso Robles version of a Chateauneuf du Pape. Elegant as well as substantial, the 2007 exhibits sweet kirsch liqueur, raspberry, lavender, and dusty, loamy soil characteristics, medium to full body, and ripe tannin. Enjoy this beauty over the next 7-8 years.
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Wine Spectator
Floral grapey berry, plum and boysenberry flavors are pure, ripe and complex, gaining depth and richness. Shows off a spicy fresh earth flavor on the finish. Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah.
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.