A most interesting Paso Cab. Grainy and diffused. Bleak while extravagant. Blind, I would have said sub-45$ Medoc. It reeks of left bank. Thick and modestly perfumed, grating and rash. Acidity at 11 and not too much chubby–typical Paso–fruit and ripeness showing. And this is not an expensive wine! These days of 100$ paso cab with long expansive stories all fall shy in light of this mid-grade offering. What they propose in their ridiculous allocations and influencer dedications, this wine actually delivers to the discriminating drinker. Not even GLANCING at age and tertiary, it takes a ruby-deep glass and charms with East-side Templeton Gap gloriousness in ways only El Pomar District can do. Funky and old-world in the nose, beautiful anguish of soil and sun on the palate, it finishes dry and sexually bitter. I NEED a case of these to see where they’re at in another decade. Very few Paso cabs will I recommend aging, but this has decades to go. Chalky resplendency rules the day, and deep cherry fruit matches the ire. Get it.

2017 @pomarjunctionwinery#cabernetsauvignon El Pomar District #pasorobles 14.4