Wine Club Gift Guide

Paso Robles Wine Reviews

I drank these 5 wines and tasted apple, black fruit, bright, dark red fruit, honey, low acid, mineral, pepper, smooth, stone fruit. The wines are aged, food friendly, small production and came from a variety of sources, including wine clubs, wineries, and wine stores.

Wine reviews by: Jessyca Frederick

Patelin de Tablas Blanc

2021 Tablas Creek Vineyards Patelin de Tablas Blanc

I smelled white fruit and enjoyed an appley mid-palate (the Grenache Blanc), a hint of Meyer lemon, and a nice minerality supported by mild acidity.

Tasting notes: apple, low acid, mineral

Improv

2014 Ecluse Wines Improv

A great example both of the winemaking style from Écluse Wines and and the ageability of their wines (and red wines from Paso Robles).

Tasting notes: black fruit, smooth

Chenin Blanc

2018 Lone Madrone Chenin Blanc

With 4+ years of age on it, this Chenin was not especially fruity, but still aromatic and honeyed. The acidity and body were beautiful, offering interesting textures as the wine moved across my palate.

Tasting notes: bright, honey, apple

Oveja

2018 Lone Madrone Oveja

I enjoyed: white fruit cocktail, banana, lychee, something like Petrol (from the Picpoul), and mandarin. Still food-friendly, after all those years.

Tasting notes: bright, stone fruit

New Routine

2017 Thacher Winery New Routine

Big, mouth-coating red wine featuring dark red fruits, black fruits, and a host of other savory flavors.

Tasting notes: dark red fruit, black fruit, pepper

Notice: I hold no formal wine credentials. I am a wine geek who has consumed 1000+ of bottles from 100+ different wine clubs and 1000s more bottles that didn’t come from those wine clubs. I do not accept payment for wine reviews, and I do not accept payments to influence my opinions. I happily accept free wine (and I buy wine).

Why read my wine reviews: Wine taste is subjective. What I like may not be what you like. I try to leave room for you to form your own opinions, so I don’t provide a score or a rating. I do point out wines that are an incredible value or truly not worth the money. I note flaws, wines that don’t have typicity (because this matters if you are buying wine without having tasted it yourself), when wines are out of balance, and when wines lack appropriate body.

I don’t like wasting money (or anything for that matter). I’m careful about where I spend my money and my mindset as a reviewer is to be careful about where you spend yours. I don’t believe a high price tag equals quality and I know for sure there are wines of very good quality that are also a great value.

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