This wine is a bit of a nostalgic return: Dusty Nabor’s FIRST wine was his flagship cab from El Pomar District. He has since moved sourcing for that bottle to Happy Canyon, but here we have a joyful return to Paso Robles for his bargain second label series: No Special Occasion. Nearly impenetrable clear ruby in the glass with wide, staining pink edges. A nose unmistakably Paso: rich and a touch flabby, the fruit warm and inviting: the deep cherry ripe and toasty, small bits of dank barnyard glossing the rim, briar a weedy touch on dusty shelves. Decanted generously.
In the mouth, the concept of this being a 25 dollar wine is shocking. Luscious, bitter, dusty fruit graced with sharp edges and absolutely unmistakably Cabernet–a near-textbook mark many double the price fail to hit. It’s sooooo young: youthful angst producing teeth-wiping abrasion on the palate, robust blackberry and red currant filling the gaps between acid and structure in a beautiful way, the incredibly low alcohol a return to *un-hot* wines all readers here demand. Shocking tannins fill the finish, fruit charging headlong into the stony abyss. The pedigree shown here causes pause, as the $25 offerings from Paso Robles become rarer and rarer. Buy two cases and drink 3 a year.
2021 NSO WINES Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Puerto Electrica’ El Pomar District Paso Robles 14.0
Stephen McConnell 