Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/26650
Standing on an Elevated Plane DEPARTMENT HEADER PASO ROBLES WINEMAKERS ARE MOVING UPWARD AND FORWARD In the 1st century bc, the Latin Neoterics, or poetae novi, rejected traditional social and literary norms. Their poetry exemplifi ed meter and sound, while balancing vocabulary with the equally important element of their style. In the 21st century, Paso Robles, the Neoteric winemak- ers—or perhaps we can call them Neoterroirists—are elevating the norms of the region, while balancing fruit, tannins and texture with the equally important element of their style. kukkula estate: Focus Plus K evin Jussila fi rst made wine in Topanga Canyon, a country-in-the-city community in north Los Angeles County. Back in the early ‘90s, even before Malibu was taken seriously as a winemaking region, no one would believe that anything “worthwhile” could be grown in this area. But the wine was surprisingly good (Jussila had purchased his vines from Tablas Creek in Paso), although it was basement wine and just enjoyed with friends. He made four vintages before the TTB insisted he put an appellation on the label. They suggested Los Angeles. He chose California. A blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre and Grenache, the kukkula 2007 sisu (SRP $28) must have a cinnamon stick fl oating in the bottle, with fl avors so vivid; but there’s also roasted co≠ ee and star- brightness to the fruit and refi ned acid structure. Graphite and licorice on the back leave you with a fond memory. Fast forward to his all-hillside property in the Adelaide area on Paso Robles’s Westside (not far from Tablas Creek!) where the high energy fi nancial-advisor-by-day dry- farms Rhône varieties on soils that range from limestone on top of the hill, to clay and rock as the vineyard descends in elevation. “My wines are not monolithic,” Jussila says of the wines under his kukkula estate label—appropriately named, since kukkula translates as hillside in Jussila’s ancestral Finnish. There are 19 acres planted to vine on this scenic property. “There’s a distinct aromatic and palate differ- ence from one to another.” Paula and Kevin Jussila, owners of Paso Robles winery kukkula, on their hillside estate. march 201 1 / the tasting panel / 89 PHOTO: MERIDITH MAY PHOTO: MERIDITH MAY