ENTHUSIAST OF ALL

On the strength of the recent 2023 vintage, we set our sights back to Paso Robles this summer for our annual wine trip. Over the course of a week with a group of friends and family, we visited nine wineries and tasted close to 60 different wines. We had last visited this region back in 2023 when these grapes were enjoying the weather of that perfect vintage, and in a notable change to our itinerary, visited six completely different wineries this time around.

The star of those first-time visits would have to be Law Estate, which has, with intention, set itself on a clear higher echelon relative to its peers. Aside from the stunning scenery and transcendent wines, the uniquely interactive tasting format complete with a blind tasting presented by our exceptional host Nicole separated this experience from all of the others.

While Paso Robles offers a diverse array of tasting options, we were not let down by any of our choices for visits. A quick rundown of the first-time stops: At Caliza, we had the place to ourselves early in the week and enjoyed personalized service from owner Carl Bowker himself. Epoch offered a thorough and educational tasting with some bonus pours added, although they were not pouring any of their 2023s yet. The Turley tasting menu was rock solid; it is always refreshing to see a winery pouring all of its highest scoring wines on its daily tasting menu. Calcareous could take note of that reality, and after being disappointed by its tasting menu offerings three years ago we opted to simply pick up a bottle of our choosing this time, but the smells of the roasted meat from the lunch alone make this a high priority return stop on our next visit. Perhaps the only views better than Calcareous are to be had at Daou, and while the wines there linger perhaps just a cut below the rest of these Paso Robles stops, the service and overall experience is second to none (besides perhaps Law!) One could argue that Wente is a bit overpriced, but we were surprised by the overall quality of the wines there relative to our expectations. It is a gorgeous property that certainly has to be the best stop in the Livermore Valley area.

Of the return stops, we still have nothing to complain about at Denner or Booker, especially considering our friends’ memberships there help to relieve some of the tasting fee pain! Both continue to deliver consistently solid wines across the spectrum of whites, red blends and powerful single varietals at the respectively stunning properties.

As always and especially in this era of ever-escalating wine prices, we strive to seek and appreciate value. When two wines are given the same score, we break that tie based upon the lower price point. Here is a quick rundown of 20 of the best wines we tasted, organized in a March Madness style proportion with 16 whites and 4 reds:

REDS (THE SWEET 16):

1. Law Sagacious Paso Robles 2023, 97 Points, $90: Remarkably complex, with red currants and baking spices combining with elegance on the nose. This is intense and exciting, with a concentrated core of velvety dark plum and wild raspberry that evolve confidently into richly intertwined white pepper, cardamon and cinnamon spices. A beam of gravelly mineral adds grip and depth through the endless finish, picking up subtle dark chocolate and smoky notes as it lingers. Sublime, with a lot to unpack here. 42% Grenache, 33% Syrah, 25% Mourvèdre.
2. Calcareous Tres Violet Paso Robles 2023, 96 Points, $65: This opens with creamy oak and floral violet aromas, leading into a thick core of robust, plummy cassis and blueberry over a decidedly purple fruit frame. Impressive for the elegance it maintains over its plush, powerful texture, gaining complexity from a solid underbelly of mocha, cracked black pepper, savory Provencal herbs and licorice root, lingering long on a floral note. The heavier presence of Mourvèdre here steals the show and separates this stylistically. 46% Mourvèdre, 39% Grenache, 15% Syrah.
3. Turley Zinfandel Dusi Vineyard Paso Robles 2023, 95 Points, $53: Perfumey aromas of dark fruits, brown sugar and mocha combine on the nose. This is rich and ultra-concentrated, with a beam of blackberry and dark plum fruit that gains complexity from toasty mocha bean undertones, lingering long on a creamy, velvety note that carries an edge of briary anise and sassafras. Complex and shape-shifting, picking up a cinnamon note as it lingers. 80-year-old vines from the Templeton Gap.
4. Denner Dirt Worshipper Syrah Paso Robles 2023, 95 Points, $85: Huge aromas of smoked meat, leather and black fruit. A powerhouse, with an intense core of dark plum and black licorice. Decidedly purple, evolving into and underbelly of roasted herbs, mocha bean and wet gravel. Silky and deep throughout the long finish, with round tannins adding grip. Awesome.
5. Law Beguiling Paso Robles 2023, 95 Points, $90: Fleshy, muscular texture shows great structure and dimension with its flavors of damson plum and wild raspberry that combine with baking spices and white pepper. The finish lingers long with undertones of wet rocks and earthy green olive adding complexity as lush tannins add grip. Explosive fruit shows impeccable balance all the way through as the length extends. Correctly identified blind. 88% Grenache, 12% Syrah.
6. Turley Zinfandel Estate Paso Robles 2023, 94 Points, $50: Burly, with smoked meat and dark berry aromas. Dynamic and electric, with thick and briary blackberry and boysenberry that explode above powdery mocha and brown sugar elements. Deep, rich and powerful through the long finish.
7. Epoch Estate Blend Paso Robles 2022, 94 Points, $70: Thick, bold and powerful, with plush blackberry, black plum and licorice flavors that evolve into layers of leather, wet earth, and dark powdery chocolate spices, finishing with a blast of chalky mineral. Well-put together and structured, with a long finish. 46% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre, 18% Tempranillo.
8. Caliza Azimuth Paso Robles 2023, 94 Points, $82: Plush texture of dark plum and blackberry pie shows a beam of cracked pepper, leather, mint and hints of smoke through the long finish. This is loaded and complex, yet elegantly finessed, with intense cocoa notes creeping in late behind the dark fruit notes, settling in with a wet gravel coda. 41% Mourvèdre, 26% Grenache, 26% Syrah.
9. Law Audacious Paso Robles 2023, 94 Points, $90: Silky mouthfeel of cedary black cherry, perfumed cassis and plum that evolves into a powdery underbelly of dusty mocha, wet stone and iron mineral. A complex and unique blend, with a long finish that carries an orange peel tinge that caresses the deep fruit flavors as they linger. 39% Grenache, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Carignan, 13% Syrah.
10. Law Aspire Paso Robles 2023, 94 Points, $90: Combines power with elegance over a deep, leathery texture. This bursts with black plum and blackberry fruit that evolve steadily into smoked meat, dark chocolate and cracked pepper notes, gliding effortlessly through the long finish. Lingers with a dash of dusty, chalky minerality and a blast of roasted herbs. 82% Syrah, 18% Grenache.
11. Booker Fracture Syrah Paso Robles 2023, 94 Points, $98: Huge aromas of bacon fat and smoked meat lead into a leathery texture of violety dark plum and blackberry that evolves into complex herbaciousness, smoky cured meats and cracked black pepper. Chalky tannins clamp down through the long finish. This needs some time in the cellar to open fully but is packed, loaded and deep with potential.
12. Caliza Syrah Reserve Paso Robles 2021, 94 Points, $110: Enormous nose of leather, toast and violety blue fruits. This is thick and rich, with a blast of blueberry and blackberry above dark chocolate, mocha and cracked pepper. A streak of wet minerality and toasty oak pulls this all together through the long finish.
13. Turley Petite Sirah Pesenti Vineyard Paso Robles 2023, 93 Points, $52: Smokey meat and inky purple fruits on the nose. Rich, intense and brooding with muscular blackberry flavors that quickly give way to tar, smoke and peppered T-Bone through the long finish. Chewy tannins add grip.
14. Turley Zinfandel Ueberroth Vineyard Paso Robles 2023, 93 Points, $63: Rich and dense, with black cherry, dark plum and licorice wrapped in a tightly bound coil of cracked black pepper and briary spices. Picks up a firm tannic grip but lingers long with an accent of brown sugar. Turns lush on the back of the palate as dark fruit and savory spices keep pumping.
15. Epoch Grenache York Mountain 2022, 93 Points, $85: Lifted perfumey aromas showcase red currant fruits. Svelte and concentrated, with a lively core of red cherry and raspberry that evolves into a streak of wet limestone that lingers long. Acidity keeps pumping beside a grainy tannic grip, showing great energy and an awesome texture through the long finish.
16. Booker Vertigo Paso Robles 2022, 93 Points, $85: Velvety body of black cherry and black licorice flavors show smoked meat, cracked black pepper and chalky graphite notes underneath. Polished, balanced and structured through the long finish. Syrah-driven. 45% Syrah, 27% Mourvèdre, 10% Grenache.

WHITES (THE FINAL 4):

1. Epoch Viognier York Mountain Vineyard 2023, 92 Points, $55: Petrol and hot asphalt minerality dominate on the nose, leading into a waxy texture of apricot, peach and honey that transcends the mineral components, which circle back with more subtlety late to add complexity. Tropical pineapple and lemon linger with crisp minerality. There’s a lot going on here.
2. Denner Viognier Paso Robles 2022, 91 Points, $50: Combines toasty oak, lemon and stone fruit on the nose. Loaded with melon and lemon citrus that turns rich and creamy on the back of the palate, catching understated wet stone notes that linger with the buttery texture, finishing with a touch of floral citrus. Unique for its oak presence.
3. Booker White Paso Robles 2022, 91 Points, $65: Combines vivid floral stone fruit flavors of peach and apricot with creamy oak undertones, picking up potpourri and toasty spices through the long finish. 50% Viognier, 35% Chardonnay, 10% Roussanne Blend.
4. Law Soph Adeleida District Paso Robles 2024, 91 Points, $90: Floral and complex, with a creamy texture of pineapple and tropical melon fruit that shows a well-intertwined streak of vanilla bean and toasty spice. This is all about texture through the long finish. 42% Roussanne, 32% Marsanne, 16% Clairette Blanche, 10% Grenache Blanc.