Winemaker Notes
Blend: 60% Mourvedre, 30% Grenache, 10% Syrah
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Showing slightly more focus and structure than the straight Esprit de Beaucastel, the 2010 Esprit de Beaucastel Panoplie (60% Mourvedre, 30% Grenache and 10% Syrah) offers up a thrillingly rich and polished profile of blackberry, licorice, roasted herbs, spice box and assorted cured meat-like qualities on the nose. This is followed by a full-bodied wine that has layers of fruit and texture, building richness and a blockbuster finish where the quality of the wine really shows. While approachable now due to its fruit and texture, it should ideally be given 3-4 years of bottle age. It will drink well through 2030. Drink 2016-2030.
Rating: 95+
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.