Winemaker Notes
High Road is always a blend of the best barrels off James Berry Vineyard, a benchmark property located in Paso Robles’ most esteemed microclimate. The limestone soils and multiple aspects of our blocks at JBV offer the perfect conditions for producing wines of length and balance. This year’s High Road is classically proportioned. The core of pure fruit is enveloped by a sublime fineness of texture. This very well could be the best High Road to date.
Pairs well with roasted breast of duck with grilled plums.
Blend: 70% Syrah, 10% Petite Sirah, 10% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 High Road James Berry Vineyard reveals a sweet, sun-kissed nose of blackberries, crème de cassis, licorice and cracked pepper. On the palate, it's full-bodied, rich and layered, with a bombastic core of ripe fruit, youthfully chewy tannins and a warm, generous personality. Enjoy it over the next 3-4 years.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 High Road James Berry Vineyard (60% Syrah, 20% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre) is a more elegant, ethereal wine that sports a deep ruby/purple tinged color to go with notions of black raspberries, cedar-like spice, cured meats and herbes de Provence. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and seamless on the palate, with fine tannin, as well as a savoriness that’s going to make it shine on the dinner table, give bottles a year, and drink through 2025.
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Wine Enthusiast
Zesty black currant, rich milk chocolate, hints of caramel and a flash of dried sage show on the nose of this blend of 60% Syrah, 20% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre. It's thick and a bit chunky on the palate at this early age, carrying flavors of loamy soil and black currant syrup, set against a very chalky texture.
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Wine Spectator
Lively and precise, with floral raspberry and peppered meat aromas and layered blackberry, grilled herb and licorice flavors that end with refined tannins. Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre. Drink now through 2026.
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.