2014 Epoch Estate, White, Paso Robles.
The gorgeous and stylish White from Epoch Estate comes from estate vineyards, Catapult and Paderewski, in the western/cooler Willow Creek District, and is formed of about equal parts Viognier and Grenache Blanc and is a near perfect ying and yang of northern and southern Rhone styles with the result being a true west side Paso wine with flair and substance. Jordan Fiorentini, a major superstar winemaking talent in the California wine world, has crafted a beautiful white with this 2014, it is richly full and expressive on the succulent palate, but remains fresh and lively, she did some unique stuff here, this is a no malo wine, aged in a combination of concrete, both French eggs and Italian tulips were used, plus stainless and neutral French oak, and had a portion of the Viognier macerated on it’s skins for 24 hours, and it got 5 months of lees or Sur Lie. Not only an interesting approach, but a fine tuned blended wine that delivers maximum pleasure and detail with supple and elegant textures and length with an array of honeysuckle, white peach, apricot, hints of kiwi and vibrant mixed citrus, tropical notes, dusty ginger and clove spices, chalky/salty along with clarified cream, pepper, distilled white rose and jasmine, finishing with an almost tangerine/passion fruit sorbet note, while still briskly dry and vital. Fiorentini went to great lengths to get the best out of the Viognier without adding sickly perfume or cloying sweetness, this is a wonderful wine and shows what can be done with white wine in this region, it is not too surprising though as I can honestly say, I have many times thought Tablas Creek’s Chateauneuf inspired Esprit Blanc was their best wine in certain vintages, but Epoch really has done a masterful job here, and while the reds are sublime at this winery, I’ll be keeping an eye on this sexy white too!
($32 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive
