The Paso Robles area of California is really shaping up to be a huge rock-star region in the Golden State and for good reason – it has a cooler climate than Napa and generally presents grapes that don’t get as sugarfied as so many do in the more nothern areas of California. Producers in this region have honed their craft in making wines that really take advantage of the cooler temps and done very well.
Justin Winery was founded in 1981 by Justin and Deborah Baldwin and follows the typical story of how it was their desire to produce world-class wines etc. etc. blah blah blah – right? How many times have heard of similar stories? Let’s see if their wines hold up to the vision they had:
2008 Sauvignon Blanc – W.E.P. Rating: 100%
Taste: Grassy lemons coat the palate with nice slight hints of white pepper. Excellent acidty keeps the fruitiness in check and helps this be a very food-friendly wine that’d go great with shellfish, sea-bass or a spring salad.
Technical Data:
Tank ageing: 5 months in topped up stainless steel Barrel replacement: No barrels Blended: 9/19/ 2008 Racking: Once-Post Fermentation Harvest dates: 8/15/ 2008 (West Paso Vineyard) 8/17/2008 (East Paso Vineyard) Filtering: Sterile Fining: none Brix at Harvest: 22.1 to 23.6 Bottled: January 27, 2009 Harvest method: 100% hand-harvested Closure: Stelvin Screw Cap Fermentation:14 days with M2 Total Acidity: 0.81g/100ml pH: 3.18 Malolactic fermentation: None Alcohol: 13.5% Barrels: None Yeasts: M2 Price: $15
Nose: Lemon peel, grass, straw and hay – hints of grapefruit and elmer’s paste.
Taste: Grassy lemons coat the palate with nice slight hints of white pepper. Excellent acidty keeps the fruitiness in check and helps this be a very food-friendly wine that’d go great with shellfish, sea-bass or a spring salad.
2006 Reserve Tempranillo – W.E.P. Rating: 90%
- Barrel aging: 18 months in 225-L oak barrels, 25% new
- Blended: 7/30/ 2008
- Barrel replacement: 30-40% annually on average
- Harvest dates: 9/10-10/3, 2007
- Racking; every 3 months
- Brix at Harvest: 24.8
- Fining: none
- Harvest method: 100% hand-harvested
- Filtering: none
- Fermentation: 10 days with UV-43
- Bottled: May 2nd, 2009
- Maceration: 22 days including fermentation
- pH: 3.74
- Total Acidity: 0.68 g/100ml
- Alcohol: 13.5%
- Pump overs: 2 times daily during fermentation
- Barrels: Allier, Nevers
- Yeasts: UV-43
- Price: $45
2006 Cabneret Sauvignon – W.E.P. Rating: 90%
- Barrel aging: 18 months in 225-L oak barrels, 26% new
- Blended: 8/13-8/24, 2008
- Barrel replacement: 20-30% annually on average
- Harvest dates: 9/10-10/31, 2007
- Racking: every 6 months
- Brix at Harvest: 25.9
- Fining: none
- Harvest method: 100% hand-harvested
- Filtering: none
- Fermentation: 12 to 15 days with UV-43
- Bottled: April 13-25, 2009
- Maceration: 18 to 35 days including fermentation
- pH: 3.73
- Total Acidity: 0.65 g/100ml
- Alcohol: 13.5%
- Pump overs: 2 to 4 times daily during fermentation
- Barrels: Missouri, Minnesota
- Malolactic fermentation: in barrel
- Yeasts: UV-43
- Price: $26.25
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