Roll Out the Barrels 2017 – Results Are In!!!!

The rain held off for us to enjoy another year of our favorite event, Roll Out the Barrels. The two sessions of the event were full of great club members ready to taste through our delicious barrels of 2013 wines. This year we had 33 barrels and six varieties to taste; Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah.

The 2013 growing season was the second year of widespread drought in Paso Robles. We had only .70 inches of rain in January compared to the 9 inches we have had so far this year in 2017.  Fortunately, a permanent crop like grape vines takes multiple years before the vines begin to show stress.  One unusual advantage to drought conditions is low susceptibility to the extreme cold snaps that usually follow storms.  The actual amount of frost days in 2013 was THREE, and the lowest was only 34 degrees.  So unlike 2011, with over ten inches of rain where we experienced a fifty percent crop loss due to frost damage, 2013 had a great yield of about 260 tons of fruit.  This is about 15% above our average crop.

Therefore, the vines had very uniformed canopies and we were able to ripen the fruit to optimum flavors and stay on our somewhat normal picking schedule although in general, 2013 was a quick and early harvest that started about three weeks earlier than normal, starting about mid August. What you have experienced in tasting these wines were fruity, full flavored red wines.  Most of these wines originated in 100 percent new French oak.  They should lend themselves to complex, bold flavors with great potential for successful aging.

Here are the official results:

The three Cabernet Sauvignon barrels with the most votes will go into our Barrel Select Cabernet Sauvignon and Reflections. The two Merlot barrels with the most votes will go into our Clone 3 Cuvee and the top voted barrel of Syrah will go into our Rhone blend Expressions. Thank you once again for all your help in creating these delicious wines, we can’t wait to taste them with you!!!