Vinum Cellars Red Dirt Red - Paso Robles Rhone • Reverse Wine Snob®

Channeling a little Chateauneuf du Pape in Paso Robles, the Vinum Cellars Red Dirt Red.

35% Mourvedre, 28% Syrah, 22% Grenache and 14% Petite Sirah from Paso Robles, California. The wine spends 18 months in French oak barrels (90% 2 year old and 10% new).

Sample submitted for review. The Vinum Cellars Red Dirt Red has an SRP of $20 but is available for as low as $15. 1,216 cases produced.

From the bottle:

We have produced this wine from other California appellations, but have found Paso Robles to be the epicenter for “Red Dirt”, meaning terroir best suited to produce concentrated red wines.

We pick the grapes as a field blend at optimal ripeness and believe the fermentation of multiple varieties makes this blend a more complex wine. We mature this cuveé in 2 year old french oak barrels for 18 months and select only the best barrels for Red Dirt Red.

14.5% Alcohol

We’re big fans of GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) blends no matter where they come from – whether it be their original home in the Rhone Valley or anywhere else. It turns out Paso Robles can do this style quite well.

The 2016 Vinum Cellars Red Dirt Red begins with a pleasing aroma of red cherry, cranberry and baking spice. The wine tastes of plum and cherry and features lots of earthy, meaty and mineral notes along with touches of balsamic and black olive plus more baking spice. Smoky, almost mesquite like notes lead into the long dry finish. With plenty of complexity and lots of layers to discover, this is an excellent choice. The addition of Petite Sirah (which actually originated in the Rhone but isn’t grown there today) works quite well with the GSM.

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