2012 Tempranillo

Operations here have been moved from rented space at Denner to a large, airy facility on York Mountain, a few miles east of Paso Robles, which has taken winemaker Jordan Fiorentini out of the often chaotic atmosphere of the former locale. Fiorentini told me that she continues to refine the style of the wines that she makes here, pointing out that "ripeness is the least of our worries around here, but attaining finesse is always a challenge." While hardly shy in personality, the Epoch wines possess a degree of elegance that often catches me off-guard, and they are balanced to reward patience.

Jordan Fiorentini is one of the most thoughtful winemakers in Paso Robles, so it is not surprising to see quality continue to improve in a meaningful way at Epoch. Today, Fiorentini is likely to use a significant portion of whole clusters and more neutral vessels like cement, both of which allow the purity of the fruit to come through with greater transparency. All of that has happened while Epoch continues to expand under the leadership and vision of owners Bill and Liz Armstrong. Epoch's new winery on York Mountain is now nearly finished. Epoch's newest estate vineyard, Catapult, which lies next to L'Aventure and Booker, is now contributing fruit to some of these wines. The Armstrongs have spared virtually no expense in getting Epoch off the ground. What they have achieved in just a few years is truly remarkable, but my sense is that it is just the beginning. In addition to these wines, I also tasted the 2012 Zinfandel, which had just been bottled and was understandably very tight.