2018 August PASO Magazine

TASTE OF PASO
Robert Hall Winery
showcases PASO ROBLES diversity
Robert Hall Winery’s founding winemaker
Don Brady is crafting exciting
new wines under
the Cavern Select label,
available through the tast- ing
room only. This portfolio
of small lot production
includes impressive Rhône
style wines, cabernet
sauvignon, chardonnay,
zinfandel — and the new
addition of vermentino.
Not many Paso winemakers
are producing vermentino, a crisp fresh white
wine native to Italy and France’s Provence
and Languedoc- Roussilion regions. So I was
delighted to stop by recently at Robert Hall’s
hospitality center to savor this refreshing wine
on a hot Paso afternoon.
The tasting lineup of the Cavern Select portfolio
was conducted by assistant winemaker
Amanda Gorter (Brady was out of town). Vermentino,
I learnt, is Brady’s initial foray into
crafting this varietal. He found the fruit in the
El Pomar district tucked in the hills behind
the winery.
Gorter was joined by Breck O’Neill, general
manager and managing
director at Robert Hall Winery. In 2016, the
winery (including production facilities, hospitality
center, inventory, vineyards and brand)
was acquired by Larkspur-based O’Neill
Vintners & Distillers, the seventh largest
wine producer in California by volume. Breck,
who’s a fourth-generation vintner is based in
San Francisco and makes weekly visits to Paso
while overseeing the main winery in Fresno
on a monthly basis.
“There’s not much planted in Paso,” Gorter
commented on the vermentino, a wine
well-suited for Paso’s hot summers as it makes
ideal pairing with seafood and salads. The
small production (229 cases) of vermentino,
available in the tasting room only,
is gradually gathering momentum
with visitors as an alternative to
chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.
The 2017 vintage shines with citrus
notes and fragrant aromas of white
peach ending with a crisp finish. At
13.5 percent level, it’s
also low in alcohol. “We
wanted to make sure we
respected its varietal expression,”
Gorter affirmed.
With an annual production
of 3,000 cases, the
small lot Cavern Select
portfolio is minuscule
compared to the approachable
white label Robert
Hall wines, the workhorse
of a brand that’s available
in grocery stores.
The difference with Cavern
Select lies in vineyard
sources from Paso’s top
notch vineyards in the
Willow Creek, Adelaida and El Pomar regions.
Plus the French barrels used are crafted
by artisanal coopers for these high-end
wines. “They get the best barrels, there’s diligent
winemaking practice and we put extra
TLC,” O’Neill said. All this effort enhances
the wine’s aging potential.
The 2016 vintages of Cavern Select portfolio
includes the lush peppery GSM (grenache,
syrah mourvedre blend) and a spicy, smoky,
Breck O’Neill and Amanda Gorter. Photo by Mira Honeycutt
full-bodied 2016 mourvedre evoking the essence
of Paso garrigue, redolent with traces of
wild sagebrush. The restrained zinfandel produced
from Dante Dusi vineyard sings with
notes of dry herbs and white pepper.
From its estate Monahan Ranch, the 2015
cabernet sauvignon is blended with a splash
of merlot and petit verdot. Packed with black
currant and cocoa aromas, the wine begs to be
opened two hours before drinking.
Through the summer season the hospitality
center is rocking with Friday night music
series on the scenic terrace. An art exhibit by
San Luis Obispo’s Pop Up Phantom Gallery is
scheduled through the month of August.
O’Neill is excited about his family’s acquisition
of Robert Hall. “Paso fits the bill — you’re
getting incredible quality,” he said in comparison
to Napa Valley. “That’s why we’re here in
Paso, there’s room to grow, quality is getting
better and people are great.”
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42 | pasomagazine.com PASO Magazine, August 2018