An Epic Rhone Blend from Epoch

Your humble Wine Bargain Sleuth has recently become more aware of some of the truly amazing wines emanating from Paso Robles, California (the locals pronounce it “Pass-O RO-Bulz”, rather than the admittedly more elegant Spanish version).  I was lucky to visit the laid-back, charming but still quite agricultural area about a year ago on a trek from LA to San Francisco.  To say that Paso Robles feels a great deal different than Napa Valley is a huge understatement, a bit like comparing a spanking new flagship Mercedes S Class sedan to a rusting Ford F-150 work truck.  But one should make no mistake—there are some world class wines from this lesser-known region.  One such world class wine is the 2010 Epoch Estate Blend Paderewski Paso Robles, a Rhone-style blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Tempranillo grapes.  This unique red, from grapes more often associated with European rather than domestic wines, is best described as a rich and fruit-forward wine which at the same time manages to be quite balanced and complex, with a lovely acidity that makes it food-friendly.   I would pair this red beauty with a hearty roast or beef stew.  Its fine-grain tannins will definitely give the Epoch Estate Blend the backbone and structure to stand up to big dishes!  So impressed was Wine Spectator with this $40 retail red blend that it named the 2010 Epoch Estate Blend Paderewski as number 25 on the 2013 Top 100 Wines, awarding a very stout 93 rating to the wine.  Epoch’s proprietors Bill and Liz Armstrong named the 2010 Estate Blend for the vineyard’s namesake former owner, the late President of Poland and a former world class pianist and composer.   That is a lot of culture (and a lot of great flavor) from the relatively unknown Paso Robles region of California.   The Epoch beauty makes one memorable introduction to the region and certainly a Worth a Splurge Wine!