Finally did an official visit and tasting there (2 months ago).

Here are the 11 wineries my wife and I visited.
All are westside wineries and in order we visited:

- L'Aventure *** {wonderful reds}
- Windward * {nice Pinot}
- Four Vines *** {!}
- Dover
- Tablas Creek
- Adelaida * [ala POOR service]
- Turley ***
- Justin {all hype?}
- Halter Ranch *
- Denner *** {D. is going places, catch the train now}
- Linne Calodo *** {wow!}

The top five (***) of these 11 are spectacular and the next three (*)
even nearly as good as the first five.

Certainly we missed several excellent eastside wineries but c'est la
vie! Next time.

-Ken

On 28 Jul 2006 16:09:44 -0700, "k.papai" > wrote:

>Finally did an official visit and tasting there (2 months ago).
>
>Here are the 11 wineries my wife and I visited.
>All are westside wineries and in order we visited:
>
>- Justin {all hype?}

>-Ken

What happened at Justin? I've been in the Justin Wine Society club for
about three years now, which means I get six bottles of their
offerings automatically twice a year. Usually that leads to an order
of a case or two. I particularly have enjoyed their Isoceles and
Cabernet Sauvignon. Both are consistent quality.

The most recent arrivals included a rose which was 100%
mourvedre--very crisp and not at all what I had expected in a rose.
They also have had some excellent conventional (i.e. red) mourvedre
and malbec bottlings which I thought were quite good.

Their whites are OK, but not really in the style that I tend toward. A
"Trois Blanc" was uninspiring and their Sauvignon Blanc tends to be a
bit flat. The Chardonnay is usually pretty good in a citric rather
than "buttery" style.

Was it the wines, the facility, the staff or something else that put
you off?

(It should be noted that they lost an incredible amount of inventory
last year at the big warehouse fire, so it's possible they might not
have had much available in mature wines to show.)

Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com

Ed Rasimus wrote:
> On 28 Jul 2006 16:09:44 -0700, "k.papai" > wrote:
>
> >Finally did an official visit and tasting there (2 months ago).
> >
> >Here are the 11 wineries my wife and I visited.
> >All are westside wineries and in order we visited:
> >
> >- Justin {all hype?}
>
> >-Ken
>
> What happened at Justin? I've been in the Justin Wine Society club for
> about three years now, which means I get six bottles of their
> offerings automatically twice a year. Usually that leads to an order
> of a case or two. I particularly have enjoyed their Isoceles and
> Cabernet Sauvignon. Both are consistent quality.
>
> The most recent arrivals included a rose which was 100%
> mourvedre--very crisp and not at all what I had expected in a rose.
> They also have had some excellent conventional (i.e. red) mourvedre
> and malbec bottlings which I thought were quite good.
>
> Their whites are OK, but not really in the style that I tend toward. A
> "Trois Blanc" was uninspiring and their Sauvignon Blanc tends to be a
> bit flat. The Chardonnay is usually pretty good in a citric rather
> than "buttery" style.
>
> Was it the wines, the facility, the staff or something else that put
> you off?
>
> (It should be noted that they lost an incredible amount of inventory
> last year at the big warehouse fire, so it's possible they might not
> have had much available in mature wines to show.)
>
> Ed Rasimus
> Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
> "When Thunder Rolled"
> www.thunderchief.org
> www.thundertales.blogspot.com

I also heard that Four Vines lost a lot of inventory at that warehouse
fire
in Vallejo (arson).

Justin was not tasting anything special; no Isosceles, which was one of
the reasons I went to Justin this time. Scenic place, I still
recopmmend people visit Justin, perhaps even stay there overnight
though I have heard that dinner service is lacking.

Two photos I took from May 2006 at Justin:

http://www.kenpapai.com/wine/justin4986.jpg
and
http://www.kenpapai.com/wine/justin4989.jpg


-Ken

On 29 Jul 2006 09:40:50 -0700, "k.papai" > wrote:

>
>Ed Rasimus wrote:
>
>> (It should be noted that they lost an incredible amount of inventory
>> last year at the big warehouse fire, so it's possible they might not
>> have had much available in mature wines to show.)

>Justin was not tasting anything special; no Isosceles, which was one of
>the reasons I went to Justin this time. Scenic place, I still
>recopmmend people visit Justin, perhaps even stay there overnight
>though I have heard that dinner service is lacking.

In Justin's news letter that came with the last shipment, they
indicated that the Isoceles stock was one of the biggest losses. They
had sufficient alternatively stored stocks of the recent vintage to
fill the Wine Society allocations but no re-order was available. That
probably accounts for the lack of Isoceles for tasting.

Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com

> - L'Aventure *** {wonderful reds}
> - Windward * {nice Pinot}
> - Four Vines *** {!}
> - Dover
> - Tablas Creek
> - Adelaida * [ala POOR service]
> - Turley ***
> - Justin {all hype?}
> - Halter Ranch *
> - Denner *** {D. is going places, catch the train now}
> - Linne Calodo *** {wow!}
>
> The top five (***) of these 11 are spectacular and the next three (*)...

UPDATED:

http://www.kenpapai.com/wine/paso2006.html

In article >,
Ed Rasimus > wrote:

> On 28 Jul 2006 16:09:44 -0700, "k.papai" > wrote:
>
> >Finally did an official visit and tasting there (2 months ago).
> >
> >Here are the 11 wineries my wife and I visited.
> >All are westside wineries and in order we visited:
> >
> >- Justin {all hype?}
>
> >-Ken
>
> What happened at Justin? I've been in the Justin Wine Society club for
> about three years now, which means I get six bottles of their
> offerings automatically twice a year. Usually that leads to an order
> of a case or two. I particularly have enjoyed their Isoceles and
> Cabernet Sauvignon. Both are consistent quality.
>
> The most recent arrivals included a rose which was 100%
> mourvedre--very crisp and not at all what I had expected in a rose.
> They also have had some excellent conventional (i.e. red) mourvedre
> and malbec bottlings which I thought were quite good.
>
> Their whites are OK, but not really in the style that I tend toward. A
> "Trois Blanc" was uninspiring and their Sauvignon Blanc tends to be a
> bit flat. The Chardonnay is usually pretty good in a citric rather
> than "buttery" style.
>
> Was it the wines, the facility, the staff or something else that put
> you off?
>
> (It should be noted that they lost an incredible amount of inventory
> last year at the big warehouse fire, so it's possible they might not
> have had much available in mature wines to show.)
>
> Ed Rasimus
> Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
> "When Thunder Rolled"
> www.thunderchief.org
> www.thundertales.blogspot.com

I'm puzzled too. I go to Justin every time I'm in Paso Robles area and
have always had good service there and enjoy their reds immensely. I
agree that the whites are forgettable but I don't go there for them in
the first place. How is the Rose in terms of acidity?

On Mon, 31 Jul 2006 13:48:29 -0400, Lawrence Leichtman
> wrote:

>In article >,
> Ed Rasimus > wrote:
>>
>> The most recent arrivals included a rose which was 100%
>> mourvedre--very crisp and not at all what I had expected in a rose.
>
>I'm puzzled too. I go to Justin every time I'm in Paso Robles area and
>have always had good service there and enjoy their reds immensely. I
>agree that the whites are forgettable but I don't go there for them in
>the first place. How is the Rose in terms of acidity?

The wine was a bit darker than typical of a US rose. Almost garnet.
The predominant notes were tart cherry and maybe a hint of not-too
sweet strawberry with some background leather and spice. Acidity was
in balance, but again, much more intense than one would expect in
rose.

Since I was so surprised by the taste, I really didn't have it well
matched. My recollection is that it might go very well with something
spicy like Thai food or Indian. IIRC we had it with a
brie/tomato/fresh basil pasta salad dish. In that instance it seemed a
pinot gris/grigio or bright sauvignon blanc would have been better.

It will be interesting to see if Justin does this particular wine
again next year.

Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com

In article >,
Ed Rasimus > wrote:

> On Mon, 31 Jul 2006 13:48:29 -0400, Lawrence Leichtman
> > wrote:
>
> >In article >,
> > Ed Rasimus > wrote:
> >>
> >> The most recent arrivals included a rose which was 100%
> >> mourvedre--very crisp and not at all what I had expected in a rose.
> >
> >I'm puzzled too. I go to Justin every time I'm in Paso Robles area and
> >have always had good service there and enjoy their reds immensely. I
> >agree that the whites are forgettable but I don't go there for them in
> >the first place. How is the Rose in terms of acidity?
>
> The wine was a bit darker than typical of a US rose. Almost garnet.
> The predominant notes were tart cherry and maybe a hint of not-too
> sweet strawberry with some background leather and spice. Acidity was
> in balance, but again, much more intense than one would expect in
> rose.
>
> Since I was so surprised by the taste, I really didn't have it well
> matched. My recollection is that it might go very well with something
> spicy like Thai food or Indian. IIRC we had it with a
> brie/tomato/fresh basil pasta salad dish. In that instance it seemed a
> pinot gris/grigio or bright sauvignon blanc would have been better.
>
> It will be interesting to see if Justin does this particular wine
> again next year.
>
> Ed Rasimus
> Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
> "When Thunder Rolled"
> www.thunderchief.org
> www.thundertales.blogspot.com

Doesn't really sound like a rose so much and that might pose problems in
matching. Have they done one in previous years?

In article >,
says...
>
>On 29 Jul 2006 09:40:50 -0700, "k.papai" > wrote:
>
>>
>>Ed Rasimus wrote:
>>
>>> (It should be noted that they lost an incredible amount of inventory
>>> last year at the big warehouse fire, so it's possible they might not
>>> have had much available in mature wines to show.)
>
>>Justin was not tasting anything special; no Isosceles, which was one of
>>the reasons I went to Justin this time. Scenic place, I still
>>recopmmend people visit Justin, perhaps even stay there overnight
>>though I have heard that dinner service is lacking.
>
>In Justin's news letter that came with the last shipment, they
>indicated that the Isoceles stock was one of the biggest losses. They
>had sufficient alternatively stored stocks of the recent vintage to
>fill the Wine Society allocations but no re-order was available. That
>probably accounts for the lack of Isoceles for tasting.
>
>Ed Rasimus
>Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
>"When Thunder Rolled"
> www.thunderchief.org

Even without the Isosceles, I would think that Justin would still be a
worthwhile experience, as all of their other offereings (not a club member, so
maybe I have only hit a few of the "other offerings") have been very nice,
indeed. The Justification has always been a favorite of mine, especially
considering the normal restaurant markup on the Isosceles. Kind of like
ordering the Cain Cuvee, when I can't afford the Five.

Hunt