Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Made from 68% Syrah and 32% Mourvèdre, the 2014 Booker Vineyard is more elegant than the 2013, yet has terrific intensity and depth. Loaded with notions of blackberries, chalky minerality, spring flowers and violets, it has sensational purity of fruit, full-bodied richness, and building tannin. It shows the suppler side to the 2014 vintage and is certainly approachable today, yet it will be at its best from 2019-2029+.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Booker Vineyard is a blend of 68% Syrah and 32% Mourvèdre and has a deep garnet-purple color, displaying aromas of cassis, espresso, violets and dried herbs with suggestions of bacon fat, lavender and Sichuan pepper. Full-bodied, rich and with beautifully ripe, fine-grained tannins, it has a generous mid-palate of ripe, rich fruit and great length, giving up loads of spice notes. (Note that no 2015 Booker Vineyard was produced.)
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.