2019 Fall Custom 2320 Club Tasting Notes

Winemaker's Selection

2018 Grenache Blanc, Anna's Estate Vineyard

• A delicious rarity, the bouquet is a melange of citrus blossom, grapefruit, Danish pastry, and lemon curd. Best enjoyed now through 2022. 
• Aroma: Citrus blossom, grapefruit, and blood orange.
• Flavor: Asian pear, honey crisp apple, lemon curd and Danish pastry.
• Food Pairings: Chicken satay skewers with peanut sauce; stir-fried cod with scallions, ginger and mushrooms; tempura shrimp with zucchini and sweet potato. 

2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Adelaida District

• Suave and immediately engaging, the wine's ruby gemstone color draws you close to aromas of soft red berries (blackberries and black cherries) with complementary notes of allspice, vanilla bean and sweet mocha. Rounded textures characterize the mouthfeel with moderate tannins and the persistence of ripe berry flavors extend through the long finish with impressions of mocha and vanilla bean. Enjoy now through 2025. 
• Aroma: Freshly crushed blackberries and black cherries, vanilla-mocha and sweet pipe tobacco.
• Flavor: Ripe black cherries, blackberry liqueur, mocha, and vanilla bean.
• Food Pairings: Chipotle burgers with avocado salsa; balsamic glazed flank steak rolls with Ratatouille vegetable filling; Venison stew with sautéed porcini mushrooms. 

2017 Pinot Noir HMR, HMR Estate Vineyard

• The wine is sappy with a snap of fresh natural fruit acidity. The wine shows a restrained energy, ultimately unwinding to reveal flavors of black cherries, Earl Grey tea, Asian spices and sandalwood. This leads to a long, lush, voluminous finish of lifted dark fruit. Its current youthful ardor is embellished by aeration, drink now through 2025. 
• Aroma: Black cherries, star anise, blueberries, Earl Grey tea, sandalwood incense and "Miniver" rose. 
• Flavor: Black cherry/blueberry compote, Earl Grey tea, Chinese 5 spice, sandalwood and miso paste.
• Food Pairings: Tomato, prosciutto, and melted Gruyere sandwiches; lighly seared salmon with roasted shiitakes and mushroom sauce; Chicken Tikka Masala with minted cucumber salad and garlic naan. 

2017 Zinfandel, Michael's Estate Vineyard

• Deep ruby color suggests the wine's plump texture of boysenberry, cranberry and baking spices aromas with seque-way to a saturated fruit-filled palate of ripe black raspberries. The pure berry flavors are accented with notes of ground nutmeg and hoisin sauce lightly dusted with black pepper. Current enjoyment is recommended (over the next 3 years) shining a light on the wine's exuberant fruit. Drink up by 2022.
• Aroma: Boysenberries, Thanksgiving cranberry sauce, baking spices, and underbrush.
• Flavor: Boysenberry-black raspberry-cranberry compote, hoisin sauce and nutmeg.
• Food Pairings: Mexican style carnitas tacos; Chicken Tikka Masala; Asian spiced Thanksgiving turkey.

2016 Anna's Red, Anna's Estate Vineyard

• The wine rested for 18 months in a mix of barrel sizes (puncheons and barriques), exclusively French oak (40% new). Showing an immediacy of lusciousness, a swirled glass exhibits a huckleberry pie and sweet cedar, lavender and cinnamon stick, transitioning to flavors of violet tinctured cherry/red-plum compote complexed by savory herb, baking spices and a hint of meat carving juices.
• Aroma: Red plum tart, liqueur de cassis, sweet cedar, lavender, cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Flavor: Violet tinctured cherry/red-plum compote, baking spices, and thyme-infused meat juices.
• Food Pairings: Rosemary braised lamb shanks; chicken with 40 cloves of garlic; hearty winter root vegetable stew.  

Additional Selections

 

2018 Picpoul Blanc, Anna's Estate Vineyard

• An early morning pick, the grapes were hand-sorted, whole cluster bladder-pressed, moved to tank for an overnight settling, then transferred to a combination of concrete and neutral French oak barrels where it fermented on indigenous yeast. It then underwent a partial malolactic fermentation and rested on the lees for nine months. The wine is star bright with greenish-yellow glints, giving off aromatics of citrus rind and pineapple with flavors of preserved lemons and green papaya. Best enjoyed in the near term, drink-through 2022.
• Aroma: Lemon-lime, pineapple, crushed rocks, and citrus zest.
• Flavor: Grapefruit, preserved lemon and honeydew melon.
• Food Pairings: Strawberry arugula salad with herbed goat cheese; smoked oysters; Thai lemongrass chicken.

2017 Zinfandel, Heaton Ranch

• Heavy dark fruit aromas are confirmed in the waves of luscious flavors (think of extra ripe blackberries, boysenberries and olallieberries) that saturate your palate with a super-rich quality. Notes of fruit preserves improved with sweet baking spices, finished with a brooding soft succulence accented by shavings of milk chocolate and cedarwood. Drink now through 2024. 
• Aroma: Extra ripe blackberry, black raspberry, boysenberry, and milk chocolate shavings.
• Flavor: Berry preserves, baking spices, cedar, and coconut milk. 
• Food Pairings: Mediterranean grilled beef shish kabob brushed with cardamom/cinnamon marinade; baked Cajun chicken drumsticks with rhubarb cornbread; grilled Italian sausage and radicchio pizza. 

2016 Viking Blend, Viking Estate Vineyard

• A textbook expression of mountain-grown grapes, the wine is a laser beam of crisp-edged fruit purity, violet aromatics, and salivating flavors of just-picked black cherries and blueberries with crystalline minerality. Finishing with notes of extra dark chocolate and vanilla bean spices. Recommend decanting for current drinking, will move into a willowy congeniality in due time, developing silky textures and further integration of fruit and oak. Drink through 2023. 
• Aroma: Violets, Crème de cassis, black cherries, cedar, vanilla and graphite minerality. 
• Flavor: Just picked black cherries, blueberries, mocha, dark chocolate shavings and vanilla bean spice. 
• Food Pairings: North African style braised chicken with green olives and preserved lemon; Chinese style ribs with Guava BBQ sauce; grilled burgers with Argentinian parsley sauce. 

2014 Mourvèdre Signature, Anna's Estate Vineyard

• Well adapted to warm climates, Mourvèdre thrives in the mountains of Paso Robles. Its flavor captures a quality of underbrush and wild herbs. At its core, this wine delivers red currants, enveloped with a sense of dried thyme and wild game continuing to a prolonged spice box finish. Drink now through 2022. 
• Aroma: Red currant, dried underbrush, and sweet spiced cherries. 
• Flavor: Red currant jelly, deep red flowers with thyme and spiced box. 
• Food Pairings: Braised leg of venison with fall vegetables. 

2016 Syrah Signature, Anna's Estate Vineyard

• This wine shows deep colors of purple almost leaning to black with a nose reminiscent of black pepper, cassis and campfire smoke. The palate brings the meaty characteristics of the wine to light, also showing tobacco, dark chocolate, and notes of rich boysenberry pie. This wine has great aging potential, drinkable now for its pure fruit concentration, yet will reward patience. Enjoy through 2029. 
• Aroma: Black pepper, cassis, campfire and plum marmalade.
• Flavor: Boysenberry pie, dark chocolate shavings, and tobacco.
• Food Pairings: Red wine braised beef Ragù with Pappardelle; Za'atar spiced pork chops with demi-glace thyme mushrooms; pomegranate glazed Quail over polenta. 

2013 The Don Port, Bobcat Crossing Estate Vineyard

• The wine shows an energetic, mouth-coating super-ripe fruitness, sort of a blackberry liqueur, dried cherry-chocolate-sultana nuanced sweetness with notes of cinnamon stick and allspice. Its youthful ardor will transition into a mellow sweet fig-like personality with complete integration of its current adolescent heady spirituous nature. Drink now through 2025. 
• Aroma: Blackberry liqueur, dried cherries, chocolate shavings, and cinnamon stick.
• Flavor: Blackberries soaked in brandy, plump sultanas and chocolate-covered cherries. 
• Food Pairings: Fig tart; Italian pear-almond cake; blue cheese platter with honeyed walnuts; Christmas fruitcake.