Fresh and Edgy from Paso Robles, South America’s Montrachet and a Fab Brunello: Weekly Tasting Report (March 1-7)

Our top wines in this report on what we rated over the last week are not really about cabernet sauvignon. They are about grapes such as malbec, grenache, syrah and sangiovese. They are about unique varietals and blends that expand your love and taste for wines. And many come from the Rhone Valley and Rhone-inspired wine producing areas such as California’s Central Coast, and in some cases Paso Robles.

You may have noticed on my Instagram or Facebook accounts that I have been on the road a few days, mostly in Central Coast, tasting about 100 wines while traveling to see family in Southern California. Paso Robles is making some idiosyncratic wines that have the ability to be high in alcohol but remain fresh, and in many cases, it’s their natural acidity from limestone soils and wild diurnal temperature variations that can be as much as 20 or 30 degrees Fahrenheit from midday to late at night that make for opulent yet edgy wines.

Some of the top “Paso” names in the report include Saxum, Alban Vineyards, Denner Vineyards, The Royal Nonesuch Farm, Booker, Torrin Wines, Epoch Estate Wines, Law Estate, DAOU Vineyards and Top Winery. There’s also a nice vertical tasting of wines dating back to 2010 from L’Aventure, a French-owned winery whose part owner, Stephan Asseo, moved from Bordeaux in the mid-1980s with his family to live the California dream. It all started with a few acres and trailer on a hilly part of Paso Robles, and now he makes one of the top wines in the state.

READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF THE USA 2021

These and other wines in Paso are different California wines. So many are made from Rhone Valley grape types, such as syrah and grenache, and the blends are some of the most interesting –  from Chateauneuf-inspired bottlings to new world creations. Check out many of the ratings below.

Meanwhile, Senior Editor Stuart Pigott was by chance walking the stony vineyards of Chateauneuf du Pape and continuing his visits to some of the best wine producers in the Southern Rhone Valley while I was in Paso. He continues to be impressed with the 2019 and 2020 wines despite the drought and hot weather during their grape-growing seasons.

The team in Hong Kong, mostly editors Zekun Shuai and Claire Nesbitt, are rocking through Argentine wines and, as always, they were impressed with the new releases from the Catena family. Check out Claire’s Zoom interview with Laura Catena and Alejandro Vigil, left. The Catena Zapata Chardonnay Mendoza Adrianna Vineyard White Bones continues to amaze us with every vintage, and the 2020 is no exception. I continue to say that it is the Montrachet of South America, and it easily competes with the real ones from France’s Cote d’Or. Have a look at all the Catena Zapata wines we rated in this report in the tasting notes below.

Finally, I personally rated the newest, tiny, magnum-only release of the Zodiac bottling of Brunello from Castiglion del Bosco: Castiglion del Bosco Brunello di Montalcino Zodiac Riserva 2015. It is one of the last-released 2015 Brunellos in the market, and it’s a fabulous wine that highlights the intensity and balance of the vintage. See if you can find one.

There’s lots of wines to seek out in this week’s tasting report. I am heading back to Napa tomorrow so stay tuned for more daily reports on my social media channels and wine ratings from the Sunshine State!