2015 Authenticity
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My favorite of the bottled wines was the 2015 Authenticity and this crazy good red flirts with perfection. It’s unquestionably one of the top 2-3 wines in the vintage. A blend of 81% Syrah and 19% Mourvèdre brought up in 77% new French oak (there’s roughly 35% whole clusters), it boasts a huge nose of black fruits, olive tapenade, smoked meats, and truffle, and has an almost Cote Rotie La Landonne like meatiness and savoriness. With full body, sweet tannins, and an expansive, opulent, yet perfectly balanced profile on the palate, it’s a heavenly Syrah from this great region. Don’t miss it! Superstar winemaker Jordan Fiorentini continues to keep Epoch Estate near the top of the peak in Paso Robles, and these latest 2015s and 2016s are some of the finest wines I’ve tasted from her. These are classic Paso Robles Rhône blends that mix the best of California sun and richness with a sense of purity, elegance, and balance. Don’t miss them!
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Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
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(made with 35% whole clusters, fermented in new French oak puncheons and raised for 18 months in large French oak barrels, 77% of them new) Vivid purple. Heady aromas of ripe black and blue fruits are complemented by suggestions of vanilla, star anise and incense. Palate-staining, spice-tinged cherry liqueur and boysenberry flavors show outstanding clarity and pick up a sexy floral nuance on the back half. Delivers outstanding energy and minerally lift on the extremely long, blue-fruit-dominated finish, which features a smoky quality and harmonious, fine-grained tannins.
The 2015 Authenticity Proprietary Red is superb, unfurling in the glass with aromas of smoky wild berries, grilled meat and cracked black pepper. On the palate, it's full-bodied, multidimensional and authoritative, massive in both scale and depth, with immense concentration, beautifully fine but abundant tannins and impressive energy and tension for such a formidably powerful wine. All of Paso Roble's potential amplitude and volume is captured here, but its structural refinement and harmony elevate it above mere brutishness into something quite thrilling.