2005 Justin Cabernet

What a delicious wine for a low price. I've had the 05 Justin Cab numerous times and it never fails to disappoint and is always a favorite amongst guests. Located in Paso Robles, California, Justin Vineyards focuses on making Bordeaux-style blends and single varietals at a reasonable price. The property was founded in 1981 by Justin and Deborah Baldwin when they planted their 160 acre property to the major Bordeaux varietals and created their Estate vineyard. Since then Justin and Deborah have produced and experimented with nearly every varietal known to man including Chardonnay, Sauv Blanc, Cab Franc, Deborah's Delight Orange Muscat, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, Syrah, Tempranillo, Viognier, and Zinfandel. That's quite a list! I'm always a little wary of wineries that crank out so many different varietals but from the few Justin wines I've had they just might be the exception to the rule. It should also be noted that the varietals listed above are not all produced every year. One other interesting thing to note about Justin Vineyards is that there is a luxurious European inspired Inn with four fairly priced suites on the property as well as a dining room. I have a trip planned here in the spring and will make sure to post a full review. I've had the 2005 Justin Cab right out of the bottle but on this particular evening I decanted for 6 hours before drinking.

Tasting Notes: Very dark body with a lighter shaded rim, fruit forward nose jumps out at you with dark aromas of plum, cherry and slight oak. In the mouth the wine is delicate with a fruit forward entry only to finish with beautiful soft round tannins and hints of spice. A versatile wine that pairs well with food or can be enjoyed alone. This wine drinks well young but will improve with a few years of bottle age. Very good Cab at a great price.

Score: 89

Price: $21 Continued...

2005 Four Vines "Maverick" Zinfandel

Paso Robles is next on my list of wine producing regions to visit and when I do one of the wineries I want to visit is Four Vines. This is what I like to see in the attitudes of California winemakers. These people are making wines FUN - Snobbery and pretentiousness has been replaced with Pirates, Bikers, and "Zinbitches" (I'm waiting for Ninja's). These guys focus on appelation specific wines, old vine Zins and un-oaked Chardonnay. I LOVE me some old vine Zin, it's one of my favorite things to drink and I'm pretty curious about the un-oaked Chardonnay as well. That review will be coming soon. The head honchos of the Four Vines family are Christian, Susan & Bill and together they make some kick ass wine and bring some great attitudes to winemaking. Christian began as a chef in Boston and his love for wine developed from there. He and his partner, Susan Mahler, moved from San Francisco to Paso Robles in 1990 and set up shop. Bill Grant is a childhood friend of Christian’s and joined the team in 2002.

The 2005 "Maverick" Zin comes from the 100-plus-year old vines of the original Grandpere Vineyard, along with the 40- year old vines of The Deaver and Linstead Vineyards. Nice ruby color in the glass. The nose is quite spicy and fruity with a hint of oak. Rolling this around in my mouth although jammy, it wasn't quite the fruit bomb I was expecting. Nicely balanced, blackberries were dancing - not exploding in my mouth with a spicy finish. Finish seemed a little short but still very good. If I'd have hit the brakes I think this wine would have flew right by. I'm going to rate this wine a 88, because at the $20 price point there are other Zins I would rather drink. If this was a few bucks cheaper I would buy a case or two as a house wine for the summer/ fall. I love the idea, style, and direction of this wine and am excited to try the other zins and syrahs Four Vines offers. Talk to me Goose.

Score: 88

Price: $20 Continued...