Winemaker Notes
Year in and out Avenger is the wine you can take to a party and show off to your friends. It has plenty of complexity for the enthusiast, but also a yummy factor that hits the spot for the newbies. This vintage brings both in spades. The dark magenta color entices you into an intoxicating nose of vanilla, bramble berry, cinnamon, graphite and violets. A gorgeous mid-palate folds in flavors of grilled plums, browned butter, salted caramels and curing spices, transitioning to a seamless finish framed with fine tannins. Pull the cork on this one while you are prepping a spice rubbed roasted duck breast over whipped parsnips, and bramble berry confit. Have a back up because chances are your friends will crush it by the time dinner hits the table!
Blend: 46% Syrah, 28% Graciano, 14% Carignan, 6% Grenache, 6% Mourvèdre
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another gorgeous wine, the 2019 Avenger (70% Syrah and 10% each of Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Carignan) is a full-bodied, rich, meaty, and powerful red with complex peppery, licorice, and mineral-laced aromas and flavors. Seeing roughly 25% stems and 70% new oak, I suspect it’s going to benefit from short-term cellaring.
Range: 93-95 -
Wine Spectator
Offers torque and structure combined with deep currant, licorice and peppered beef accents, which gather tension toward medium-grained tannins. Syrah, Graciano, Carignan, Grenache and Mourvèdre. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2019 Avenger Paso has a medium ruby-purple color and aromas of cassis, cracked pepper, tar and mint chocolate. The full-bodied palate is grainy and fresh with a mineral-laced finish.
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.