Another darling-child of Paso Rhones, this one used to be pretty much cool-kids only, but now I think you’d have a hard time getting through a conversation of the region with a mention of LEDGE. And the wines can be a great representation of the area. They are not particularly low-alcohol, nor are they lacking in concentration. But there’s an elegance to them, a balance and beauty that will shut up the Paso Robles eye-rollers.

Beautiful rosy garnet. It’s dense, but you CAN actually see through the wine–pretty much de rigueur with me on this variety. Fat round fruit. An incredible aroma of raw meat, morning glory and asphalt. Smoky-dense in the nose, a briary ridge runs parallel to the richness, elevating and complicating it. A tiny minty-eucalyptus flirts with the oak, melding together the vegetal and vanilla.

In the mouth, the chubby cherry doesn’t let you caress its baby-fat long. Ridiculous black concentration shows you where the fruit is coming from while a peppery blast of acid lets you know who’s boss. Not a SPECK of heat, although I would be shocked if it were under 15. Sweet and completely un-unctuous, the fruit remains a long memory around the simple tannins.

This is probably right about where these wines should be drank. This is probably where that 14YO Paso Grenache of a couple night ago should have been dranken. It was beautiful–with an asterisk–and I think this one will probably taste about the same at 14. It’s already on that map. 5 to 10 years is where these wines shine. Below that, they are obfuscating black jammy monsters inciting cardiac arrest, but asking them to go further is flirting with disappointment.

2015 LEDGE GR/SY 70/30 Rolph Family Vyd Adelaida Dist. Paso Robles 15.8

https://www.ledgevineyards.com/