Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Blended of 48% Syrah, 21% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache, 10% Petite Sirah and 1% Roussanne, the 2015 Broken Stones displays a deep garnet-purple color and nose of freshly crushed black cherries and blueberries with touches of fertile loam, garrigue, mossy bark and rare beef. Full-bodied with wonderful vitality and purity, it has a firm backbone of grainy tannins and a very long, pepper-laced finish.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Brought up mostly in barrels (75% new French oak), with some in concrete, the 2015 Broken Stones (48% Syrah, 21% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache, 10% Petite Sirah and a splash of Roussanne) is another seamless, seriously impressive wine. Blackberry, white pepper, spice and violets all emerge from this silky, full-bodied beauty that has tons of class. It will be the last year where the blend is more Grenache and Mourvèdre heavy, and in 2016, it's going back to a Syrah dominated cuvée. They've created a new Grenache cuvée from this block as well. Rating 94-96.
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.