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{ SOMMjournal.com } 87 Cass Vineyard & Winery, Geneseo District Although the estate winery is known pri- marily as a Rhône house, nearly half of the 146-acre vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon. We tasted through an impres - sive lineup of wines. Winemaker Sterling Kragten finished off the tasting with the 2013 Malbec. Only one acre of Malbec is planted and is traditionally used in blend - ing with their Cabernet Sauvignon and in Bordeaux-style b lends. However, when tasting the single-varietal lots, Kragten saw something different and did not see the point in blending the wine. "I thought it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission," Kragten told us, "so I put it in some nicer barrels, stuck it in the back of the cellar, and didn't tell anyone." After two and a half years, the 300 cases were bottled. "Since then, they've [the owners] been very appreciative that I did it, since it's done really well," he laughed. Cass 2013 Malbec: Dark and brooding with juicy blueberry, blackberry char- acteristics hints of sarsaparilla and violets. Robert Hall Winery, Geneseo District Winemaker Don Brady of Robert Hall Winery, who has been with the winery since 2001, led us on a tour of the barrel room built into the hillside, and we tasted a 2014–2016 vertical of their Cavern Select Cabernet Sauvignon. Having worked with the estate fruit for 15 years, Brady noted that the environmental pressures on the vineyard due to the drought made the 2015 vintage especially difficult. While 2014 and 2016 tasted riper and rounder, 2015 showed definitive structure, stronger tan - nins and more herbal components. Sextant Wines, El Pomar District Sextant, named for a nautical tool, was formed in 2004 as a choice by long-time grape growers to begin to make their own wine. The Stoller family owns Sunridge Nurseries and experiments with many different clones of multiple varieties. In fact, we tasted a variety entirely new to me—Caladoc, a Grenache-Malbec cross that was surprising in its fruit-to-structure ratio—and it was delicious. The 2014 Kamal Cabernet Sauvignon stood out as a highlight. Sourced from the best blocks of their El Pomar Vineyard, the opulent wine includes all five Bordeaux varieties, leading with chocolate and black and purple fruit, the oak adding a sweet - ness and a plush palate. Treana Winery, Templeton Gap Hope Family Wines owns Treana, located in the Templeton Gap, although they source from 50 growers in order to make the wines. They believe that blending the differ- ent appellations produces a well-balanced wine, and in order to demonstrate the success of their outlook, Treana provided samples of three sub-regions for our small group of sommeliers to taste and blend. We tasted Estrella District Cabernet Sauvignon, Creston District Cabernet Sauvignon and El Pomar District Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah individually, noting the subtle variances, before creating our own blends. We finished by tasting the 2014 Treana Red, the Syrah adding a unique, spicy element to the Bordeaux flavor profile. Head of a growing family-owned enter - prise, Austin Hope lives on the vineyard in the Templeton Gap and produces five wine labels: Liberty School, Austin Hope, Candor, Troublemaker and Treana. He enjoys experimenting and constantly plays with new winemaking techniques. Ancient Peaks Winery, Santa Margarita Ranch Doug Filipponi, Rob Rossi and Karl Wittstrom own Ancient Peaks Winery, named for the Santa Lucia Mountains looming above the ranch. The vineyards lie in Santa Margarita Ranch, the south - ernmost and coolest sub-AVA of Paso Robles. Robert Mondavi actually planted the Margarita Vineyard in 1999, and the trio acquired it in 2005, believing the vine- yard to be something special. With a long gro wing season and five different soil types within the ancient sea bed, the Margarita Vineyard is the only vineyard in the vicinity. "Let's overdeliver quality for the money because we can. It's something that we are very proud of," stated director of winemak - ing Mike Sinor. The entire lineup of wines come in at pointedly reasonable price- points. We, as a whole group, were able to taste them during our final dinner, held at Ancient Peaks' event venue, Oyster Ridge, following a thrilling zip-lining adventure located on the Santa Margarita Ranch. EXPLORING THE DIVERSITY OF THE PASO ROBLES SUB-REGIONS Doug Filipponi, co-owner of Ancient Peaks Winery, hosted us at the Oyster Ridge event venue for our final dinner. He is pictured here with Meridith May, Publisher and Editorial Director of The Somm Journal. The Treana Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from three separate Paso Robles sub-AVAs.