2013 Epoch Syrah Block B

A real blockbuster, the 2013 Block B is almost all Syrah from a single block in the Paderewski Vineyard. It offers big, thick and chewy notes of black fruits, olive tapenade, graphite and coffee bean to go with full-bodied richness and depth on the palate. Hedonistic and sexy, it's not for those craving innocuous or lightweight wines and will knock your socks off for upward of a decade. Jordan Fiorentini continues to excel as the winemaker at Epoch, and she now has a brand new, state-of-the-art winemaking facility, located just off York Mountain, to grow into. She continues to experiment with different levels of concrete tank (even some amphora) and larger barrels, and I expect the style here to be tweaked as they settle into the new winery and continue developing new vineyards. Talking about her 2013s, she commented that it was similar to 2012, yet with softer tannin. She opted to bottle most of them early as she wanted to preserve as much fruit and freshness as possible. The wines showed beautifully and had the expected Paso Robles richness to go with excellent purity of fruit.

Author: Jeb Dunnuck