Syrah (Paso Robles, CA)

In Paso Robles, a small town in San Luis Obispo County, California, they grow olives and they grown grapes. With those geapes, they make wine. Originally known for its natural hot springs, it was founded from a land grant obtained by a bunch of Mexican-American war veterams, one of them an uncle of Jesse James. At the site of one of those springs, local businesspeople built the El Paso de Robles Hotel just before the turn of the century. The spa there became a healing place for the rich and famous. Jack Dempsey went to recover from his fights, the Cubs and Pirates had spring training there and lavished in the springs and Ignace Paderewski, the legendary Polish pianist, unable to play the piano because of the arthritis in his fingers had his arthritis cured there ... or so he said.

The weather here is typical of places where big, bold, California red wines are made. With cool rainy winters and dry, hot summers with temperatures often reaching 43C/110F amid fairly constant sunshine, they are limited in the grapes they can grow here. Primary, they are Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and the red grapes of the Rhone, mostly Syrah. It's that Syrah that brings us here today.

While Paso Robles is itself an American Viticultural Area (AVA), it has within it 11 smaller AVAs. Today, however, we will focus on the larger, all-encompassing one.

A couple of things make the area unique for wine. One is the names of the wine. Winemakers and proprietors here are creative in their naming. So, expect to see off the wall wine names with equally interesting labels. The other thing about the wine here is that almost all are red blends, but so many of them are Syrah-based that we have decided to focus on the Syrah.

Most of the Syrah grown here originated from French cuttings. Initially, four clones were imported from the Rhone Valley, primarily from Chateau du Beaucastel, the famous southern Rhone producer of Chateauneuf du Pape. This was in 1991, the cuttings were quarantined until 1994 and Syrah started to spring up in Paso Robles very shortly thereafter.

Here, the Syrah and Syrah-based blends are dark purple, highly concentrated, and quite tannic. If you don't like intensity and mouthfeel, these are not for you. Characteristic flavors and aromas include blackberry, smoke, black raspberry, black pepper (notice the trend) and bacon fat. And, with their high acidity from the chalky soil combined with the dense tannins, the best of these wines will age well for quite a while.

Many like these local Syrahs with steak, but I prefer them with wild game and cured meats. In either case, they can carry the meat without question. The only problem is potentially overwhelming it.




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