From The Winery

In 1987, we made our first vintage of a wine styled after the famous First Growth producers of Bordeaux, created with the same uncompromising care as the Grands Vins of those venerable chateaux. For more than 30 vintages, ISOSCELES has been our flagship wine and quality benchmark for this style of wine here on the Central Coast of California. A blend based on Cabernet Sauvignon supported by Cabernet Franc and Merlot, the 2018 ISOSCELES shows why Paso Robles is such a great place to grow these varieties.

Full-bodied, with ripe black fruit, complex baking spice and amazingly ready to drink right out of the gate, you can try a bottle or two now, but make sure to save a few to enjoy this wine as it continues to evolve after some time in the cellar.

Vintage Notes

The 2018 vintage had a cool, dry winter with almost all of the rain occurring from late February through March for final rainfall total at 60% of normal. Bud break began in mid- to late March after a few warming periods. Temperatures fluctuated in April with some minor frost in a few vineyards. May and June alternated between warm and cool temperatures during flowering, including a few windy days that naturally reduced our yields a bit. Warmer weather began in June and it was hot from mid-June through the end of July with veraison starting in the last week of July. The high heat continued until mid-August causing the plants to shut down periodically and delaying ripeness and maturity a bit until a cooling trend put us toward late August, helped to get things back on track. The characteristic Paso warm days and cold nights in September retained natural acidity in the fruit while we waited for ripeness and maturity to optimize. The rains stayed away through October allowing us to harvest only as perfect ripeness and maturity appeared in each block of our Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and merlot through early November.

Tasting Notes

Appearance – Deep ruby/purple core with black secondary color, lighter toward the rim with moderate plus viscosity and slow forming, moderately stained tears.
Aroma – Very aromatic and complex with ripe black cherry and cassis fruit, vanilla, cinnamon and licorice spice with sweet tobacco, cedar, leather and camphor notes.
Palate – Full-bodied with ripe black cherry and blackcurrant fruit complemented with baking spice and oak notes on entry. Sustained fruit and spice are joined by savory autumn leaf, cedar and leather on the mid-palate with mouth filling, fine tannins that lead into a long, complex and balanced finish with attractive fruit, spice, cedar and subtle camphor notes. The 2018 vintage of ISOSCELES is a rare mix of boldness and finesse that makes it a great pairing with similarly gifted dishes like a classic herb crusted roasted rack of lamb, a grilled prime ribeye steak, or the exquisite cheeseburgers with tomato, arugula, bacon jam and chive aioli from The Restaurant at JUSTIN.