Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This cuvée is going down as one of the classic whites of Paso Robles. This vintage's blend of 56% Grenache Blanc and 44% Clairette Blanche entices the nose with lively aromas of lemongrass, lime sorbet, white flowers and seashells. The palate is wrapped in a fascinatingly tense texture, presenting more lemongrass alongside judicious jasmine flavors.
Editors' Choice -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 56% Grenache Blanc and 44% Clairette, the 2023 Beautiful Earth White is beautifully floral and lifted on the nose, showing abundant streaks of citrus and mineral energy atop yellow orchard-fruit aromas. The palate displays a similar verve, with a coiled, tense texture and a rich, vibrant finish with impressive length and dexterity. This is yet another stellar showing of Paso Robles's potential to create exciting and classy white wines alongside its far more popular reds.
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James Suckling
The nose is restrained and delicate, offering aromas of stone fruit, lemon pith and fresh herbs. The palate is medium-bodied with integrated acidity, giving notes of pineapple, melon and orange rind. Nicely balanced and pure, made from a blend of 56% grenache blanc and 44% clairette blanche. Drink or hold.
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Vinous
The 2023 White Beautiful Earth impresses with its airy freshness, as lemon oil and nectarines come together with green melon and wet stones. This possesses a lovely balance of ripe orchard fruits and salty mineral tones. Hints of lime embellish the close. Tactile and long, the cheek puckering freshness keeps me looking back to the glass for more.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
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.