I’ll Take Wine Producers That Sound Like Eighties Metal Songs For A Hundred, Alex…

Recently, we tried some wines from the Paso Robles region in California – the Rabble Wine Company’s Tooth and Nail and the rather-rigidly named Law Estates.  Paso tends to get a bad rap, and I can’t explain why.  Maybe being in the shadow of Napa and Sonoma, it gets a bit lost, but that doesn’t for one minute mean anything other than a lax in marketing.  There are amazing wines to be had that bear the Paso Robles AVA on the label.  Cab producers like Daou and Justin, Zinfandel producers like Turley and Peachy Canyon, and red blend specialists like Saxum, L’Aventure and Linne Calodo have set the bar pretty high.  Always an adventure, we were excited when we got to try these:

Tooth and Nail The Possessor Paso Robles 2014.  Big, bold, powerful Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant red blend.  Lots of grip with its fat, jammy black fruits, leather and spice.

Tooth and Nail The Glutton Paso Robles 2014.  Syrah-based blend that is juicy, jammy and unctuous.  Loads of dark berry fruits, baking spices and hints of crushed flowers.

Law Wine Estates Sagacious Paso Robles 2013.  Straight-up GSM here, emulating the best of Northern Rhone with its roasted meat and mineral character, and Australia with its meaty red fruit, sassafras and mint nuances.  This is a bold and splashy red.

Law Wine Estates Audacious Paso Robles 2013.  Grenache, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, this demonstrates a lot of heft across the palate.  Chewy and jammy, like roasted black cherries on a bed of herbs, with espresso bean, tobacco and gamy notes.
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Law Wine Estates Intrepid Paso Robles 2013.  100% Syrah.  This is a monster, lurking across your palate with a veritable onslaught of sensory mayhem with its dark berry fruit, tobacco, cigar box, and a myriad of dark spices.  It’s amazing stuff!