CA Central Coast: Day 2
Paso Robles here I come! I’ve read a lot about these wines and was excited to get out there and see what all the hype is about. So I started my day a Peachy Canyon, a winery that has two wines that I’ve had before, the Westside Road Zinfandel and the Eastside Road Zinfandel. I was able to try a few of their other Zins including Old School House, Snow Vineyard, Mr. Wilson’s, Mustang Springs, and their Bordeaux blend Para Siempre. Out of all of these, I thought the Snow Vineyard was the best, but none made me say “I must have”.
I might have felt this way about Peachy Canyon because the next stop I went to was Turley….. yum Turley. Turley was pouring four wines: 2004 Mead Ranch Zin, 2004 Duarte Contra Costa Zin, 2004 Dusi Vineyard Zin, and the 2003 Pesenti Vineyard Zin. All four were great, but here is a quick breakdown. The Mead Ranch had dark fruit flavors and some spice, though I think you should age this a little for more complexity. The Duarte was a jammy, robust, and complex wine full of black cherries and spice, The Dusi was dark ruby in color with flavors of dark plums, black currants, and some Asian spices. The Pesenti, which was my favorite, had good tannins, fresh berry and chocolate flavors, crisp acidity, and a polished finish. I wasn’t surprised how good the wines were, come on their Turley, but I was taken aback at how cheap the prices were. Most of the wines where in the $30-$40 range with 2, the Juvenile and Old Vines, in the $20’s. I know back in NYC, Turley sells for more that so of course, I picked up a few bottles 
It’s tough to follow Turley, but I believe Dover Canyon, which was my next stop, did a great job. I never heard of this winery before but all the locals recommended it. The tasting room is in a cool little house with barrels right adjacent to the tasting bar, which is good because it meant the room had to be cold (it was 100 degrees outside). Our pourer was Tyler, a cool ex-Upstate NYer, who discussed the wines, food pairings, and recipes with us. Dover was pouring their:
2004 Viognier Hansen Vineyard - Floral aromas with mango, peach and citrus on the palette
2001 Merlot Cougar Ridge Vineyard - Deep in color with aromas of blackberry and cherry, medium-high tannin, medium-high acidity
2001 Menage - Fruit forward Bordeaux blend with tastes of black cherry and spcie
2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Hansen Vineyard - Black cherry, anise, and oak flavors
2002 Syrah - Blueberry and chocolate aromas ans flavors are followed by the meaty finish
2000 Syrah - High acid and high alcohol are well integrated with flavors of blackberry and vanilla
2004 Old Vine Zinfandel Benito Dusi Vineyard - raspberries and white pepper aromas, having flavors of plum and cinnamon
2004 Cujo Zinfandel - Deep cherry and raspberry flavors, with high alcohol and hish acidity making a great wine
2003 Zinfandel Port - Sweet zin with black cherry and raspberry exploding flavors
I picked up a bottle of the 2000 Syrah and then headed to lunch…..
August 24th, 2006 at 5:04 pm
Turley makes a consistently great Zin - I have yet to try one of theirs that didn’t compel me to buy a bottle. They are not inexpensive or “value” wines per se, and also are a one-grape shop (Zin), for the most part. They source grapes from all over California, and are actually very new to the Central Coast, having recently purchased and now occupying the former location of Pesenti Winery. Still, a good stop while in Paso. While there, you should have tried Four Vines, who also produce some robust and tasty Zins.
Next time you get the chance, try Peachy Canyon’s Jester - a big, juicy blend that is consistently my favorite from that winery. Castoro Cellars, right across the road from Peachy Canyon, is also worth a visit if you’re in the neighborhood, as is Bonny Doon, which is a few miles down the road on Hwy. 46
August 26th, 2006 at 9:38 am
Thanks for the advice. I have heard of Bonny Doon, but didn’t have time to stop. I actually went to a couple other places that I have to blog about, I stopped blogging when I went to lunch
I’ll post some more in the coming days.