Paso Robles Copes, Adapts and Evolves 

BY JOSH RAYNOLDS | NOVEMBER 2, 2017

Readers who follow the Paso Robles wine scene hardly need to be reminded that the region, which is historically dry in the first place, suffered through a long-term drought that drastically curtailed production in 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012. That has not stopped quality from surging to new highs. 

Two thousand fifteen, the vintage that dominates this year’s coverage of new releases from Paso Robles and neighboring areas, was another struggle, quantity-wise, for all of the region’s growers and winemakers. A number of producers that I visited in July told me that they bottled as much as 60% less wine than average, which isn’t far off from the previous three vintages. It doesn’t take an economist to tell you that production that low takes a financial toll, especially on the small high-quality producers who have brought Paso Robles its recently won fame as a world-class growing region. Fortunately, 2016, an El Niño year, brought closer to normal rainfall, but everyone I spoke to in the area wished that there had been more.

The hillside vineyards on the west side of the Paso Robles AVA are dominated by bush vines

Earlier Harvests Become the New Normal 

Weather conditions in recent vintages – notably warmer springs that have resulted in early budbreak and accelerated growing cycles, not to mention small fruit loads from drought-stressed vines – have steadily moved up the average start to the harvest. In 2016, for example, most producers began picking during the third week of August, which was a week later than in 2015 but still almost three weeks earlier than was normal in the 1980s and though most of the ‘90s. The silver lining for growers is that what (little) fruit is being produced today is impressively concentrated, which is resulting in more densely packed, intensely flavored wines than ever before, even if there’s a lot less to go around. 

Warm Conditions in 2015 and 2014 Yielded Some Surprisingly Energetic Wines