Our last stop on our first dat in Paso Robles was Midnight Cellars (www.midnightcellars.com)
These guys are also having a good time with the marketing of their logo, which is a crescent moon on a very attractive aqua colored and diamond shaped label. They have named their wines “Solstice”, “Nebula”, “Mare Nectaris”, “Gemini”, “Synnove” and others.
Our top pick at Midnight Cellars is their 2005 Malbec “Solstice”. It was the only varietal Malbec we have seen so far. This was a very rich, aromatic, red with great plum, cherry and chocolate characters. There is a nice long, memorable finish that we really liked.
A couple others we tasted from Midnight Cellars:
2006 Chardonnay – very well balanced, good oak and fruit integration. They describe it as an oaky style but the truth is, there was plenty of fruit to carry that oak.
2005 Petite Verdot – an uncommon find as a varietal as it is generally too tannic and used more as a blending grape, but this one was surprisingly soft and an interesting find.
This finished our day and a fine day it was. These wineries were all on the west side of Paso Robles. The next day, we visited a few on the east side.
Have you ever been to any of the guest chef dinners at the Justin Vineyard? Going in August.
ReplyDeleteSince I live in North Carolina, I have not had the opportunity to enjoy a chef dinner at Justin winery. However, the setting is perfect and the wines are excellent. Justin Winery's reputation is also excellent. Therefore, I would expect their chef dinners to be wonderful. I would love to hear back from you on what you thought about the dinner so please write back about your experience.
ReplyDeleteLadyoftheGrape
Sorry so long to reply. We had a grand time. I would highly recommend this. Food is outstanding, paired with Justin wines, it just doesn't get better. Will be going back in 2009.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know. I had wondered how the food and wine pairing at Justin Winery worked out. I am not surprised that it was good. They were a class act when we were there and the wines are excellent.
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