Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/348953
92 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014 ■ A round, juicy, herbal tea–like Cabernet Sauvignon from the proposed El Pomar District—characterized by 740–1,600-ft. alluvial and clay hills, largely on calcareous sandstone or siltstone, contributing bright fruit, mild tannin grip and good acid balance. ■ A vividly pigmented, deep, edgy, tobacco and raspberry liqueur-like Petit Verdot from the proposed Paso Robles Geneseo District—consisting of gravelly and alluvial 740–1,300-ft. hillsides, giving soft, fruit-forward wines with gripping tan- nin cores. ■ A hugely concentrated, cassis-like, zesty yet silky, high-toned Cabernet Sauvignon from the proposed Adelaida District—perhaps the most dramatic, and rugged, of the Paso Robles terroirs, marked by 900–2,200-ft. mountain slopes and shallow (to barely existent), rocky, calcareous soils, giving stingy yields and fruit with elevated phenolics and acidity. To demonstrate how these barrel components come together in a commercial blend, Willenborg tasted us on their 9,000-case production of the 2010 Vina Robles Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate: classically "Paso" in its lavishly aromatic varietal fruit, packaged in a soft, layered, buoyantly balanced medium body. In contrast, the 2009 and 2010 bottlings of the Vina Robles "Suendero"—ultra-premium– priced Meritage style blends (primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot) produced entirely from their Adelaida Springs Ranch—showed off the unique combination of power and concentrated velvet layering possible in Paso Robles' more extreme terroirs. Cabernet Sauvignons that Jacqueline Stoll, CS of BevMo! in San Diego described as "up-and-coming to some people . . . but for me, equal to what AVAs like Napa Valley are producing." Our next stop was out in the fields in the proposed Adelaida District, where we visited ADELAIDA Cellars' Viking Vineyard: an extremely steep mountain site topping off at 1,750 feet, consisting of very little topsoil and seemingly all the pinkish-white rocks in the world. To demonstrate the high pH, calcium carbonate content of the soil, winemaker Jeremy Weintraub poured sulfuric acid on one of those rocks so that we could see, and hear, the bubbling and fizzing from the chemical interaction. What wowed the sommeliers even more was the taste, amongst the mountaintop vines, of an incredibly rich, dense and, yes, chalky mineral-nuanced 2010 ADELAIDA Viking Estate Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Even more of a jolt was the vividly fruited, zesty, upbeat 2010 ADELAIDA Cabernet Franc. Jessie Birschbach of Mastro's in Los Angeles tells us, "It is that chalky dust in the air, paired with the ripe raspberries of the ADELAIDA Cabernet Franc while taking in the view Suendero is Vina Robles' Meritage blend, produced entirely from their Adelaida Springs Ranch. Naureen Zaim of smoke.oil.salt, Los Angeles, at the DAOU Vineyards & Winery tasting room. Sommeliers Marc Takahashi, CS, Pebble Beach Company, and Anthony Lerner, Sommelier, Mastro's Beverly Hills, in ADELAIDA's Viking Vineyard, Adelaida District. At ADELAIDA, Perry Koon, CWS, Wally's Los Angeles (right), with Jordan Villareal, Sommelier at The Hobbit Restaurant in Orange. PHOTO: RANDY CAPAROSO PHOTO: RANDY CAPAROSO