2021 Epoch Estate Blend

The 2021 Bordeaux Blend (which hasn't officially been named) is a new bottling from Epoch and comes from a new planting of about 10 acres in the Paderewski Vineyard. It's a pure, expressive and effortlessly balanced blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petit Verdot, 8% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc matured for 18 months in 68% new French oak. It has alluring scents of maraschino cherries, salami, tobacco leaves, sagebrush and violet. It floods the mouth with layer after layer of nuanced fruit. Concentrated yet weightless, it has a seamless frame of velvety tannins, bright balancing acidity and a wonderfully long finish. 238 cases were made, which will be released in the fall of 2024.

Blackberries, blueberries, ground pepper, violets, spring flowers, and graphite notes all emerge from the 2021 Estate Blend, a blend of 40% Syrah, 24% Mourvèdre, 12% Grenache, and the rest Graciano, Tempranillo, and Carignan. Pure, medium to full-bodied, and incredibly pure, it's going to drink nicely for at least a decade. Epoch continues to pull heavily from their estate Paderewski Vineyard, but they’re also releasing new cuvées from their York Mountain estate as those vines come online. I expect this trend to continue. Looking at the wines reviewed here, I was able to taste all their 2020s now from bottle, and they’ve clearly produced some of the top wines in this challenging vintage. If there’s any smoke in these wines, I was unable to find it, and they have remarkable purity in their aromatics and ripe, polished tannins. I was also able to go through the 2021s with winemaker Jordan Fiorentini, and there are some legit genius wines in here that are as good as anything out there. I’d wager these 2021s are some of the finest wines produced from this estate, and I can’t wait to try them again from bottle next year.

The 2021 Bordeaux Blend comes from new plantings in the estate Paderewski Vineyard and is largely Cabernet Sauvignon with 12% Petit Verdot, 7% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc. Fermented in wooden puncheons as well as in concrete, it's a medium to full-bodied, nicely balanced, pure, elegant wine with classic Cabernet aromas and flavors of cassis, graphite, chalky minerality, and hints of flowers. This might end up going into the Creativity release or bottled on its own. Either way, it's a seriously good-looking barrel sample at this point. I was able to taste three vintages from winemaker Jordan Fiorentini. Looking first at the 2019s, these are classic, rich, powerful wines that have tons of character and, if anything, are a step up over the 2018s. While still in barrel, I was pretty much blown away by Jordan’s 2020s, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see these end up being some of the wines of the vintage. While there are many subtly smoke tainted wines in this challenging vintage, I found these 2020s to be smoke-free and beautifully balanced. The 2021s appear to be a step up, and while they have classic Paso Robles richness and depth, they shine for their purity and elegance.