Let me preface this post by saying that I am a fan of Vina Robles. Katelyn and I have had the opportunity to visit the winery and actually had a pretty phenomenal time. It was there, many years ago; that we were first introduced to the concept of grafting vines. Without stumbling too far into the weeds, think of grafting as putting one varietal onto the root-system of another to change over an entire vineyard without having to rip it out. It was a pretty cool experience and I’d encourage you to take the tour if you’re in the area.
Blah, blah, blah… Let’s get into the wine…
Red 4 is a field blend of Petit Sirah, Syrah, Mouvedre, and Grenache. In the glass, the juice is jet-black with dark purple staining edges that outline the wine’s base. As I give it a sniff, rubbing alcohol burns my nostrils. When I fight through the heat, I can smell a slight note of raspberry and dusty basement floor on the nose. On the palate, behind the initial alcohol burn; there are notes of cranberry and black cherry. Mid palate shows some dark fruit but unfortunately I am unable to discern which black fruits as these notes are not pronounced enough to hold up to the lingering heat on the finish. Damn, I need a water back to drink any more of this wine…
This is Vina Robles’ entry level red and for a bottle in the $15 range, I can’t fault them too much. They do have some great wines but unfortunately this isn’t one…
2013 Vina Robles “Red 4” – Paso Robles CA
14.9% abv
Wines on the Range 