Winemaker Notes
Blend: 30% Mourvedre, 30% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 10% Cinsault
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
An impressive barrel sample, the 2011 Five Blocks is a slightly tweaked blend of 30% each of Mourvedre, Grenache and Syrah, with 10% Cinsault (it’s normally more Syrah dominated). Exhibiting meaty, black fruit and pepper-driven aromas, it flows onto the palate with full-bodied richness, big texture and remarkable poise and focus for such a big wine. Give it a year or two once released, and drink it through 2021. Drink 2015-2021.
Range: 91-94 -
Wine Spectator
Rounding out the chewy tannins with an array of mocha, dark berry, black licorice and chocolate brownie, this is well-focused, graceful, deep and persistent. Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache and Cinsault. Drink now through 2024.
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.