Winemaker Notes
Blend: 41% Syrah, 19% Grenache, 16% Petite Sirah, 13% Mourvedre, 8% Tempranillo, 3% Roussanne
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Blended of 41% Syrah, 13% Mourvèdre, 19% Grenache, 16% Petite Sirah, 8% Tempranillo and 3% Roussanne, the 2014 Broken Stones has a deep garnet-purple color and exuberant black and blue fruit notes with suggestions of raspberry pie, potpourri, spice cake and fallen leaves, plus a waft of chocolate box. Full-bodied and full-on gorgeous, it fills the palate with soft, sexy fruit and plush tannins, finishing on a spicy note.
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Wine Spectator
Precise yet rich in personality, offering a dense core of crushed-stone minerality and tannins, bound by expressive blueberry and dried cherry fruit, accented by licorice, dark chocolate and smoked pepper hints. Hands off for now. Syrah, Grenache, Petite Sirah, Mourvèdre, Tempranillo and Roussanne. Best from 2019 through 2027.
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.