The Third Installment in Paso Robles
Final installment in the first excursion to Paso Robles:
Saturday morning of the trip found us first at Turley, which opens at 9 am, for those eager to get a super-early start. (Their website doesn’t have any information, so I won’t bother with a link.) It’s actually located in Templeton on Vineyard Drive. Now, I had heard mixed reviews about the Turley experience, but I wanted to see for myself. First off, this is a prime example of the overlapping webs in the wine world which fascinate me. In this case, brother and sister all over the map. Also, Turley is one of the big names in Zin, so it was good research—with my working at one of the other big names in Zin… As for the wine: I found the first three from Dry Creek, Napa, and Contra Costa to be very mild. The two which stood out the most for me were the 2005 Rattlesnake Ridge—it reminded me of a Reuben sandwich without sauerkraut (because that’s how I eat them)– and the 2004 Pesenti from Paso and on the edge of being jammy.
That picture is the view from the front door of L’Aventure. Based on a co-worker’s recommendation, BK drove us quite a ways down gravelly Live Oak Road. Similar to the creators of Tablas Creek, owner Stephan Asseo chose Paso Robles as the perfect location to put his French winemaking skills to use. The production is about 6,000 cases a year and 90% is estate grown. Drawn to the beauty and intricacy of blends, I fell in love with the 2005 L’Aventure Côte a Côte, made from Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre, though I had a problem with calling it unctuous, as was in the tasting notes. It bothered me for days because I wouldn’t consider that wine ingratiating or oily in any way. Just lovely chocolate, fig, blackberry and light floral notes. I also liked the 2005 Estate Cuvee, which reminded me of floating down the river in Missoula with teryaki beef jerky.
The last stop was Hansen Winery. With its tiny tasting room, it seemed to me a fairly small operation. I didn’t get to ask many questions, though, because the pourer was busy helping some folks who had just joined their wine club as well as preparing for an event that night. I was fine just tasting through the menu and noting how the different varieties seemed to be doing their own thing. For instance, the 2003 Cabernet with its thick raspberry and cherry tasted like Chambord liqueur. With a vertical Syrah tasting, I found the 2003 to be syrupy and almost port-like, while the 2004 had flavors of tar and gamey meat. We finished with the 2005 Marquis Zinfandel which was the lightest of the group and reminded us of candy (cherry jolly ranchers for me and a fruit roll-up for BK) and violets.
Overall, a great trip… which unfortunately leaves me with even less room for wine in my small apartment.
Farley Walker
Paso Robles, Turley, L’Aventure, 2005 L’Aventure Côte a Côte, Hansen Winery
July 23rd, 2007 at 6:14 pm
This was my second visit to Turley, and though I liked it better this time, I think I have to attribute it to my cute company. They have made some amazing wines, but overall, their tasting room experience leaves a bit to be desired. L’Aventure was definitely my favorite of these three. In addition to great wines, they had extra appeal for me due to their large soil sample tubes in the tasting room and easily accessible vineyards right next to the parking area. One thing I found interesting about this trip was seeing the diversity of style and presentation that these wineries exhibit with their tasting rooms and service. Each one had their own spin, from formal settings behind elegant facades to back-room, home-grown hangouts. This was a great trip - thanks Farley!