Paso Robles and Four Vines Rock!

Biker Anarchy!


I misbehaved. I freely admit it. I have no excuse.

But I do have an explanation. It’s an explanation predicated on greed. And the damage done to courtesy and boundaries when alcohol intake reaches a certain level.

Greed and drunkenness. Not terribly original reasons for misbehaving, I’ll grant you. Still, I’d have held the reins of restraint more firmly had the wine reps from Paso Robles not been overrun by thirsty wine drinkers eager to sample the wares of the tasting room. The reps had a dozen wines on the back table, and a wave of people poured into the room, and the reps got caught up, and new arrivals didn’t know what to do, and so I acted as Honorary Wine Rep and poured a wee dram for a few of them and oh heck, from there it was an easy step to helping my own self.

Yes, that is my sin: I helped myself to a second pour of The Biker. The end of the tasting was at hand, and we were debating whether the Anarchy or The Biker was better, so I thought I’d better re-sample my two favorites of the evening. At least I observed protocol by ASKING for a second taste of Anarchy. I also got a disapproving look, but I decided I could live with that. Especially after a second sip of Anarchy.

What a pity more Rhone blends don’t emulate Anarchy! I typically prefer Bordeaux blends, but Andie has been digging the Rhones, so I’m trying. I don’t have to try with the Anarchy. How could anyone NOT like it? It’s the Barack Obama/Ron Paul blend, nodding to tradition while standing it on its head. You don’t want to try it, that’s your problem. And it leaves more for ME.

“Temperance, like Chastity, is its own punishment.” (from the Four Vines website)

The winemaker at Four Vines, Christian Tietje, proudly proclaims his hedonism on the entertaining website for the Paso Robles winery, http://www.fourvines.com/ A hedonist. No WONDER he’s a lover of Zin! With Anarchy, instead of the usual GSM, he’s kept the Mourvedre but booted the Grenache in favor of Zinfandel.

Anarchy is, essentially, an SMZ, a Syrah-based blend that is a luscious mouthful of rich black fruit and spice. Lisa picked it as her favorite of the evening, although she also was very taken with the upper-end 2006 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc from the Tablas Creek Vineyard. (Which was a much more . . . reserved . . . tasting in the front room of the Rat.) Me, I can’t bring myself to pay upwards of $40 for a white wine. Not this night, anyway. Because The Biker, a kickass Zin with the same wonderful blackberry, spice and vanilla as the flagship Old Vine Cuvee, gets a little something extra from Tietje’s “splash of Mourvedre.”

Mind you, I didn’t get anything extra from The Biker bottle, as my companion happily took possession of my stolen pour. So much for greed.

We met the loveliest couple at this tasting, but, probably due yet again to my happily tipsy state, I neglected to ask their names. He was a wine snob – I say this approvingly – and he was firm about his favorite of the tasting: The Heretic. I can’t in good faith disagree with him. The Heretic is lovely, big and lush, an old vine Petite Sirah that is intense and impressive, deeply purple as PS’s are, silky and structured. Whoa Mama! Christian Tietje again, with the Freak Show line from Four Vines.

We absolutely loved the female half of this couple, She – a willowy, pretty brunette with a killer smile – likes the same wines and the same restaurants as we do. What’s not to like? They were, in fact, en route to our favorite eatery, having snagged the primo 7:45 reservation while WE were lucky to get penciled in for 8:30. It was fun, seeing them again!

But hey, Mr. Wine Snob (you know who you are), how can you go from big Zins and Petite Sirahs to the. . . ahem. . . understated “charms” of a Pinot Noir? HOW??? And at Pot Pie, which offers both the Seghesio Zinfandel and Guenoc Petite Sirah? How could a Pinot Noir tempt you???

More to the point, how could you even TASTE it, after the massive, peppery, dark-berried voluptuousness of the Four Vines offerings?? Harrumph. Anyway, thanks for the ZAP tip, and we do hope to run into you again. BOTH of you.