Vina Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Paso Robles: During the Wild West days, this was a desperado's dream – a place where questions weren’t asked, liquor was strong, and if you needed to get out of town fast, you had an open plain in front of you to ride. Anything can happen, and rules are there to be broken.

To this day, if you go and visit, a bit of that Wild West mentality remains, even in the wine industry. Planting Paso to grapes over a century ago, Catholic Spanish / Mexican missionaries understood the potential for the land. But over a century later, it was California’s “Rhone Rangers” who put Paso on the map in terms of wine production.

And hey, I don’t want to take away from the Rhone Rangers, but something else came to Paso Robles during that time – Cabernet. Now Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre might have stolen the show, and that’s perfectly understandable. Paso is a diverse climate, and almost every different part of it can grow these grapes well. Also, the initial plantings of Cabernet were … well, not Napa Cabernet. They were soft, with a tutti-fruiti purple fruit character, and not much else.

But I am here to report that Paso is undergoing a revolution – A Cabernet revolution. Many producers have found that moving into higher altitudes, or harder soil types, and planting in a manner that reflects that, they can produce Cabernets just as powerful as Napa, with just as much gumption, girth and strength as Napa as well. And Vina Robles is our exciting example today:

The 2019 is a blockbuster that resembles the best wine of Pomerol with its intensity, purity and suppleness. Its glass staining inky purple color blossoms with radiant aromas of blackberries, cassis, acacia flowers, vanilla wood and cedar like spice box aromas. It’s a heady experience just to smell. And the palate offers more: a supple and completely integrated structure of tannin, acidity and fruit that rounds into a lingering, smooth finish. Its tannins are totally integrated now, but the wine will go for at least a decade more in your cellar.

Paso Robles is right now, truly coming of age – nothing from Napa can compete at this price. So if you love Napa Cabernet, and are willing to take a short 30-minute plane ride south, great treasure awaits, at a price that you will never see again from Napa. Take advantage – we certainly did because the wine is awesome.