Winemaker Notes
Turtle Rock's take on the classic GSM blend, Willow's Cuvee has been elevated with a touch of Graciano, a Spanish variety. This addition deepens the wine's allure, lending a deeper color, layer of spice and heightened acidity. Aromatics of olallieberry, blood orange blossom, and peppercorn spices emerge gracefully in the glass, promising a complex sensory experience. It presents strength and elegance with refined tannins across the mid palate, culminating in a compelling and persistent finish.
Blend: 43% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 18% Mataro, 14% Graciano
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Willow's Cuvée is a blend of 43% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 18% Mataro and 14% Graciano matured for 22 months in 75% new French oak. It has layered aromas of black cherries, blueberries, violet, garrigue, charcuterie and earth. The medium-bodied palate is bursting with perfumed fruit! It has a frame of finely chalky tannins, focused, mouthwatering acidity and a long, layered finish loaded with spicy accents. It will benefit from 2-3 years in bottle.
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Vinous
Crushed blackberries, wild blueberries, sage, and hints of ashen stone waft up from the 2021 Willow's Cuvée. This sweeps across the palate with polished red and black fruits underscored by tactile minerals and spice, all guided by brisk acidity. It finishes with a staining of lavender pastille while leaving fine-grained tannins.
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.