Paso Robles

We drove through Paso Robles on Saturday and decided to stop for some wine tasting :) The first stop was Justin ... hadn't been there in a long time and have really enjoyed it in the past so it was an easy choice. The tasting was $5/each and included 5 wines.

2006 Justin Sauvignon Blanc
2006 Justin Chardonnay
2005 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Justin Syrah
2006 Justin "Deborah's Delight"

Everything was pretty good ... nothing really blew me away, but we bought a bottle each of the Chardonnay and Syrah. The Deborah's Delight was their sweet dessert wine ... it was really good, but I couldn't justify spending $50 for a half-bottle of it.

Up next was Tablas Creek (which was also $5/each, which they took off of each bottle purchased). I'd had a couple of their wines before and liked them ...

2005 Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc
2005 Tablas Creek Espirit de Beaucastel Blanc
2006 Tablas Creek Rose
2004 Tablas Creek Cotes De Tablas
2004 Tablas Creek Mourvedre
2003 Tablas Creek Espirit De Beaucastel
2003 Tablas Creek Espirit De Beaucastel
2005 Tablas Creek Cotes De Tablas Blanc
2004 Tablas Creek Vin De Paille
2004 Tablas Creek Tannat

Everything here was fantastic. We ended up getting a bottle each of Cotes de Tablas, Cotes de Tablas Blanc, and the Rose. We tried the Tannat at the very end ... super tannic and could keep for decades. They bottle a lot of different varietals that nobody really bottles on their own, such as Tannat, Counoise, Vermentino, Picpoul Blanc, etc..... I'd love to join the club for this place, but we can't really afford it right now.

On our way out of town we stopped at Hug Cellars ($5/each that is waived if you buy wine). I'd heard of Hug before but I don't specifically remember when or where. It was a warehouse winery ... they just buy grapes and don't own any vineyards.

2005 Casa Mireles "Romanze"
2004 Hug Cellars Syrah, Central Coast
2005 Hug Cellars Syrah, Paso Robles
2005 Hug Cellars Syrah, Cedar Lane Vineyard
2005 Hug Cellars Zinfandel, Paso Robles

Everything was really good ... I guess they are also known for their Pinot Noir (probably how I'd heard of them), but they weren't pouring any. We bought a bottle of the Cedar Lane Syrah. It was a tough choice between the Paso Robles one and that ... but we settled on the Cedar Lane.

It was the first time in probably 10 years I had been to Paso Robles for wine tasting. It seemed much more spread out than Santa Ynez ... but I really liked the feel of the wineries we went to. If only it was just as close as Santa Ynez we would go more often.