Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/101724
SPEED TASTING REPORT REVEAL NUMBER THIRTEEN Hearthstone Winery 2008 Lodestone, Paso Robles ($30) Horticulturist Hoy Buell has propagated everything from vegetables to grapes for the wholesale market. After selling vines to vintners for years, he began planting in Paso Robles in 1999. Located in the Adelaida region, his 40-acre estate vineyard shares a fence with the famous Tablas Creek property. Boulders of limestone are scattered around the land, and while he specializes in Rhône varietals, Buell makes 20 different varietals and blends. Hearthstone Lodestone is a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre. "I wanted to make something big and rich," Buell says of this wine. Our Panel's Notes "Ripe and balanced with a wash of black raspberry, coat of minerals and complex lavors throughout. Clean, juicy and long; lovely." — Anthony Dias Blue "Blue loral tones and rich fruits with a texturally soft palate. Earthy, meaty and peppered, tobacco leaves and violets, with a real elegance." —Daniel Bailey Hearthstone owner/grower Hoy Buell. REVEAL NUMBER FOURTEEN Vina Robles 2009 Estate Petite Sirah, Paso Robles ($26) Sourced from ive vineyard sites on their estate on Paso Robles's East Side, 22% Syrah is blended in for this leshy and complex Petite Sirah. The wine was aged for 16 months in French oak. Swiss-born proprietor Hans Nef's personal philosophy of creating wines that express a balance of European heritage and American opportunity shows itself in the bold yet nuanced quality of the fruit and gorgeous vineyard sites. The Vina Robles Hospitality Center is also a landmark along Highway 46 East. Our Panel's Notes "A surprise! Dark, deep and ripe with tangy, juicy blackberry. An impressive wine with great style."—Anthony Dias Blue "Very solid! Dark and opaque with just the right amount of earth, lesh and minerality."—Spencer Cruse Vina Robles winemaker Kevin Willenborg. 134 / the tasting panel / january 2013