2018 Estate Blend

Paderewski and Catapult Vineyards, Paso Robles
47% Syrah | 20% Mourvèdre | 18% Grenache | 12% Tempranillo | 3% Graciano

Jeb Dunnuck | 94-96
A Syrah-driven blend, the 2018 Estate Blend has beautiful freshness and purity as well as notes of red and blue fruits, lots of floral and violet hints, cracked pepper, medium to full body, and a beautiful texture. It has a cool-climate-like freshness and purity, but backs it up with beautifully ripe fruit and texture. -September 2020 (Jeb Dunnuck)

2017 Estate Blend

Paderewski and Catapult Vineyards, Paso Robles
36% Syrah | 21% Grenache | 17% Mourvèdre | 14% Tempranillo | 8% Zinfandel | 4% Carignan
Fermented in concrete and stainless-steel tanks, 1-ton bins, and ½-ton puncheons
Aged 18 months in French oak barrels and puncheons (40% new)
Bottled June 8, 2019 | Released Spring 2020
1,673 Cases Produced

Jeb Dunnuck | 95
While the estate blend used to function as an entry level cuvée, today it’s as good as the other cuvées and well worth seeking out in its own right. Based on 36% Syrah, 21% Grenache, 17% Mourvèdre, 14% Tempranillo, and the rest Zinfandel and Carignan, the 2017 Estate Blend’s vivid purple color is followed by a juicy bouquet of black raspberries, ground pepper, leafy herbs, chocolate, and a touch of chalky minerality. With medium to full body, a juicy, elegant, balanced texture, and a great finish, it’s a great wine to enjoy over the coming 7-8 years or so. I don’t think it will be the longest lived in the lineup, but for the sheer yum factor, it’s hard to beat. -September 2020 (Jeb Dunnuck)

Vinous | 94 
Saturated, bright-rimmed ruby. Expressive cherry, dark berry and floral aromas reveal suggestions of licorice, cola and candied flowers as the wine opens up. Sappy and focused on the palate, offering intense black raspberry, cherry-vanilla and candied violet flavors that flesh out and deepen through the back half. Closes very long and smooth, with harmonious tannins and repeating blue fruit and floral notes. 40% new French oak. -December 2020 (Josh Raynolds)

Wine Advocate | 93
The 2017 Estate Blend is made from all the grape varieties grown on the Epoch estate. It’s a blend of 36% Syrah, 21% Grenache, 17% Mourvèdre, 14% Tempranillo, 8% Zinfandel and 4% Carignan, aged 18 months in 40% new French oak. It has a medium to deep ruby-purple color, and the nose offers pure, pretty rhubarb and blackcurrant fruits with notes of earth and potpourri. The palate is medium-bodied and light on its feet, with spicy, fresh fruit character, a ripe frame and long finish. This is fresh and approachable right away. 1,673 cases produced. -October 2020 (Erin Brooks)

2016 Estate Blend

Paderewski and Catapult Vineyards, Paso Robles
58% Syrah | 19% Mourvèdre | 17% Grenache | 6% Tempranillo
Fermented in concrete, oak, stainless steel and one-ton bins
Aged 17 months: French oak barrels and puncheons (36% new)
Released Spring 2019 | unfined and unfiltered
1,204 Cases Produced

Vinous | 96
Deep, glistening ruby. Hugely perfumed cherry, blackcurrant and vanilla scents show outstanding clarity and pick up smoky mineral and floral nuances and strong suggestion of baking spices with air. Juicy and seamless in texture, showing superb depth and intense black and blue fruit liqueur, spicecake and violet pastille flavors that become more animated on the back half. Shows solid finishing thrust, an echo of sweet dark berries and finishes with deftly knit tannins that add gentle grip. (36% new French oak); February, 2020 (Josh Raynolds)

Wine Enthusiast | 96 & Cellar Selection 
Dense in the glass, this blend of 58% Syrah, 19% Mourvèdre, 17% Grenache and 6% Tempranillo begins with intensely smoky dark fruits as well as blackberry jam, violet, wild sage and mint. The mouthfeel is full and rich, framed by smooth tannins that rise on the midpalate alongside flavors of mocha, gingerbread and black fruits. Drink now–2036. -January 2020 (Matt Kettmann)

Jeb Dunnuck | 95
Coming from the Paderewski and Catapult vineyards on the western side of Paso Robles and a blend of 58% Syrah, 19% Mourvèdre, 17% Grenache, and the rest Tempranillo, the 2016 Estate Blend offers a forest, fleshy, pure style that’s very much in the vintage. Darker fruits, ground pepper, violets, and meaty notes all dominate the nose, and it’s full-bodied, offers ripe, building tannins, and has no hard edges. 2020 – 2030; October 2019 (Jeb Dunnuck)

Wine Advocate | 94 
The 2016 Estate Blend is made up of 58% Syrah, 19% Mourvèdre, 17% Grenache and 6% Tempranillo aged 17 months in 36% new French oak barrels and puncheons. Medium to deep ruby-purple in color, it has a lovely perfume of cracked white peppercorn, mint leaves, violets, warm wild blackberries and crème de cassis with an undercurrent of blueberries, charcuterie, loam and red berry sparks. It’s medium to full-bodied and silky with slowly unfurling savory-laced fruits, firmly grained and juicy with a long, perfumed finish. 1,204 cases produced. -February 2020 (Erin Brooks)

2015 Estate Blend

Paderewski and Catapult Vineyards, Paso Robles
53% Syrah | 26% Mourvèdre | 13% Grenache | 5% Tempranillo | 3% Zinfandel
Fermented in concrete, stainless steel and oak tanks and 1/2-ton French oak puncheons
Aged 19 months in French oak barrels and puncheons (48% new)
Released Spring 2018 | unfined and unfiltered
1,345 Cases Produced

Wine Enthusiast | 96
Concentrated black cherry, elderberry and blackberry meet with crushed dark chocolate, mint and pencil shavings on the nose of this blend of 53% Syrah, 26% Mourvedre, 13% Grenache, 5% Tempranillo and 3% Zinfandel.  The hefty palate combines flavors of dark fruits with nutmeg and clove elements, framed by chalky tannins and subtle but persistent acidity. – May 2019 (Matt Kettmann)

Jeb Dunnuck | 95
What used to be the entry-level effort of the estate, the 2015 Estate Blend is year in, year out at an incredible quality level that it’s hard to think of the wine those terms. The 2015 is 52% Syrah, 26% Mourvèdre, 13% Grenache, and the rest Tempranillo and Zinfandel, all from the Paderewski and Catapult vineyards on the west side of Paso Robles. It offers a terrific bouquet of black plums, ground pepper, charred meats and charcoal. Full-bodied, smoky, meaty, and rich, it stays light and graceful on the palate, with sweet tannins. I’d happily drink bottles anytime over the coming 7-8 years. Drink 2018 – 2026. – November 2018 (Jeb Dunnuck)

Vinous | 94
(fermented in a combination of concrete, stainless steel and upright oak casks and aged for 19 months in French oak barrels of varying size, 48% of them new) Inky purple. Cassis, dark chocolate, licorice and espresso qualities on the deeply perfumed nose. Round and weighty on the palate, offering sweet dark fruit liqueur, mocha and cola flavors complicated by building floral and spice nuances. Shows impressive energy and lively cut for its brawn, and finishes very long and chewy, with building tannins and a strong whiplash of dark berry fruit. Drink 2024-2034. – September 2018 (Josh Reynolds)

Wine Advocate | 93
Epoch’s entry-level red, the 2015 Estate Blend reveals aromas of ripe blackberries, currant leaf, cracked black pepper and subtle grilled meat. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a multidimensional mid-palate, good energy and a savory finish.  Drink 2018 – 2028.  – May 2018 (William Kelley)

2014 Estate Blend

Paderewski and Catapult Vineyards, Paso Robles
36% Syrah | 36% Mourvèdre | 22% Grenache | 6% Tempranillo
Fermented in concrete, stainless steel and oak tanks and 1-ton tbins
Aged ~18 months: 31% in new French oak barrels, 69% in puncheons
Released Fall 2017 | unfined and unfiltered
1,924 Cases Produced

Jeb Dunnuck | 93
Made from 36% Syrah, 36% Mourvèdre, 22% Grenache and the balance Tempranillo, fermented in concrete and aged in 31% new French oak, the 2014 Estate Blend comes from the Paderewski and Catapult Vineyard. As you’d expect with the name, it’s a perfect introduction into the wines of this estate. Notes of blackberries, toasted spice, cedar, and dried garrigue all emerge from this soft, deductive, beautifully textured red that has loads of charm and character. It’s certainly the most approachable of the 2014s, yet is going to evolve just fine given its balance and purity. August, 2017 (Jeb Dunnuck)

Wine Advocate | 92+
Composed of 36% Syrah, 36% Mourvèdre, 22% Grenache and 6% Tempranillo, the 2014 Estate Blend had a deep garnet-purple color and nose of black cherry compote, black raspberries and wild blueberries with hints of dried Provence herbs, cloves, cinnamon stick and black pepper. Full-bodied, soft and voluptuous on the palate, it gives tons of expressive black berry preserves, spicy layers and a good long finish. 1,924 cases were made. – September, 2017 (Lisa Perotti-Brown)

Vinous | 92
Inky ruby. Deep-pitched black and blue fruits on the nose, joined in the glass by cracked pepper and floral elements. Sappy and seamless in texture, offering juicy blackberry and cherry liqueur flavors that show building sweetness and a touch of licorice on the back half. Rich yet energetic, delivering strong closing thrust and velvety tannins that harmonize smoothly with the energetic fruit. – November 2017 (Josh Raynolds)

Wine Enthusiast | 92
A fifth generation Californian originally from San Jose, Matt Kettmann covers California’s Central Coast and South Coast for the magazine. He is also the senior editor of The Santa Barbara Independent, where he’s worked since 1999, has written for the New York Times, Time Magazine, Wine Spectator, and Smithsonian, and co-founded New Noise Santa Barbara, a music festival. – May 2018 (Matt Kettmann)

2013 Estate Blend

Paderewski and Catapult Vineyards, Paso Robles
32% Syrah | 25% Grenache | 25% Mourvèdre | 10% Tempranillo | 8% Zinfandel
Fermented ~17% whole cluster in concrete and stainless steel tanks, one-ton bins and 1/2 ton French oak puncheons. Many lots were cofermentations.
Aged for 15 months in 33% new French oak barrels and puncheons
Released Fall 2015 | unfined and unfiltered

International Wine Report | 94
The 2013 ‘Ingenuity’ is composed of 54% Syrah, 21% Mourvèdre, 16% Grenache and 9% Petite Sirah which was largely sourced from the Paderewski Vineyard. This opens with a rich bouquet of boysenberry, mocha and sweet Asian spices. The combination of weight and tension here is outstanding as deep flavors of mocha, black cherry syrup, and black plum spice cake impress through the long finish. This is an intense, rich and decadent effort that will continue to drink well for many years to come. (Best 2017-2030) – December, 2017 (OB)

Wine Enthusiast | 94
Sourced from the estate’s Paderewski and Catapult vineyards, this blend of 32% Syrah, 25% Grenache, 25% Mourvèdre, 10% Tempranillo and 8% Zinfandel bursts with black- berry, baking spice, violet and Concord grape aro- mas. Framed by  rm but ready tannins, the palate shows blackberry, cola, white pepper and dried lav-
ender  avors. – April 2017 (Matt Kettman)

Wine Advocate | 92
The entry-level release is the 2013 Estate Blend and it’s 32% Syrah, 25% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, 10% Tempranillo and 8% Zinfandel. Seeing lots of co-fermentation and aging in 33% new French oak puncheons, it’s juicy and forward, with plump and forward notes of plums, blackberries, pepper, underbrush and hints of violets. Full-bodied, sexy and textured, yet always classy and easy drinking, it should evolve nicely for 4-5 years. Incorporating all of the varieties of the estate, it’s a great intro into the style of Epoch. – August 2015 (Jeb Dunnuck)

Wine Spectator | 92
Plush and bold, but not shy on ripeness, this features a core of loamy tannins and bright acidity, maintaining focus. Delivers notes of blackberry cobbler, smoky cracked pepper, licorice and grilled herbs. Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Tempranillo and Zinfandel. Best from 2018 through 2027. – February 2016 (Tim Fish)

2012 Estate Blend

Paderewski and Catapult Vineyards, Paso Robles
45% Syrah | 24% Mourvèdre | 20% Grenache | 11% Tempranillo
Fermented in concrete and stainless steel tanks, one-ton bins and ½ ton puncheons
Aged for 18 months in 44% new French oak barrels and puncheons
1,349 cases produced | unfined and unfiltered

Wine Advocate | 94
Moving to the 2012s from bottle, the 2012 Estate Blend is flat out gorgeous, with layered black raspberry, spice, crushed flowers and licorice all present in its full-bodied, seamless profile. Made from 45% Syrah, 24% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache and 11% Tempranillo, it’s perfectly balanced, has juicy acidity, and chewy tannin that emerges on the finish. While it’s a full-bodied effort, elegance and refinement are the name of the game here. Enjoy it over the coming 4-5 years. – August 2014 (Jeb Dunnuck)

International Wine Report | 93
The 2012 Estate Blend consists of 45% Syrah, 24% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache and 11% Tempranillo sourced from the Paderewski and Catapult Vineyards. It shows wonderful concentration and depth, delivering intense aromas of red and black fruits, followed by kirsch liquor, spices, pepper, violets and touch of licorice and black olive which all come together and leap from the glass. It possesses a full body with a wonderful round, velvety texture as it heads into the long persistent finish, where it leaves behind another layer of dark fruits and peppery spices. This Estate Blend shows wonderful “Rhône-like” characteristics and should continue to evolve over the next decade. Overall, a fantastic job by Jordan Fiorentini and the winemaking team at Epoch. (Best 2016-2027) – February, 2015 (Joe D’Angelo)

Wine Enthusiast | 93 
Hot olallieberry jam, lava rocks and uncracked black peppercorn aromas decorate the nose on this blend of 45% Syrah, 24% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache and 11% Tempranillo, about 90% of which is from the Paderewski Vineyard. It’s jammy, juicy and meaty on the palate, a lip-smacking wine made interesting by a plum-skin tartness and pork stew richness. -October 2015 (Matt Kettmann)

Wine Spectator | 92
A powerful expression of dark fruit, fresh earth, herb cedar flavors. The core of dusy, loamy earth, blackberry, fresh-cut cedar and commanding tannins doesn’t let up, staying powerful, deep and persistent throughout. Best from 2016 – 2027. – December 2014 (James Laube)

2011 Estate Blend

Paderewski and Catapult Vineyards, Paso Robles
37% Syrah | 28% Grenache | 19% Mourvèdre | 10% Tempranillo | 6% Counoise
Fermented in concrete, stainless steel, puncheons and one-ton tbins (many lots were co-fermented)
Aged 17 months in 47% new French oak
1,230 cases produced | unfined and unfiltered

International Wine Report | 92
The 2011 Estate Blend is comes from the Paderewski and Catapult vineyards… It is dense and concentrated with intense aromas of black fruits, mocha, spices and licorice with hints of spring florals and some new oak. The wine boasts a full body with a gorgeous rich, velvety texture that is wonderfully balanced. The dark fruits and spices linger on the long, plush finish. Best 2015-2021. – December 2013 (Joe D’Angelo)

Wine Advocate | 91
Looking at the 2011s from bottle, and always a rock-solid bottle of wine and a great entry into the style here, the 2011 Estate Blend offers up plenty of ripe plum, licorice, crushed flowers and violet-like nuances as well as a medium to full-bodied, balanced profile in the mouth.  Showing the cooler vintage with its overall freshness and focus, it’s beautifully done and should drink nicely for 3-5 years.  Drink now-2018.  – August 2013 (Jeb Dunnuck)

2010 Estate Blend
Wine Spectator’s 25th Top Wine in the World for 2013

Paderewski Vineyard, Paso Robles
56% Syrah | 26% Grenache | 11% Mourvèdre | 7% Tempranillo
Aged for 18 months in 52% new French oak barrels and puncheons
1,719 cases produced | unfined and unfiltered

Wine Spectator | 93 & #25 Wine in the World
Combines richeness with subtlety and finesse, weaving together fresh earth, choclate-covered espresso bean and vivid dark berry flavors with touches of hazelnut, gliiding to a long, graceful finish.   Drink now through 2022. 1,699 cases made.  –  February 28, 2013 (James Laube)

International Wine Report | 93
The 2010 Estate Blend from Epoch is composed of 56% Syrah, 26% Grenache, 11% Mourvedre and 7% Tempranillo from the Paderewski Vineyard.  It offers lovely aromas and flavors of ripe blackberries, dark cherries, crushed pepper, spices and earthy minerals.  Dense and concentrated with a rich, plush texture and wonderful balance.  Finishes up long, with dark fruits spices and chocolate notes lingering.  The wine was aged 18 month in 52% new french oak barrels and puncheons.  This is a remarkable value and a great way to get a sneak peak at the fantastic wines coming from Epoch. Best 2014-2025 – April 2013 (Joe D’Angelo)

Jeb Dunnuck | 92
Their entry level blend that comes from the different plots and varieties of the property, the 2010 Estate Blend is a perfect introduction into the wines of this estate. A blend of 56% Syrah, 26% Grenache, 11% Mourvedre, and 7% Tempranillo, it has loads of chocolaty black fruits, licorice, tar, pepper, and chalky minerality to go with a great palate. Textured, rich, and drinking well beyond most estate’s entry-level offering, with serious depth and focus, it will continue to impress for 5-7 years.                -December 2012 (Jeb Dunnuck)

Rhone Report | 92
Their entry level blend that comes from the different plots of varieties of the property, the 2010 Estate Blend is a perfect introduction into the wines of this estate.  A blend of 56% Syrah, 26% Grenache, 11% Mouvedre, and 7% Tempranillo, it has loads of chocolaty black fruits, licorice, tar, pepper, and chalky minerality to go with a great palate.  Textured, rich, and drinking well beyond most estate’s entry-level offering, with serious depth and focus, it will continue to impress for 5-7 years.  – (Jeb Dunnuck)

Wine Advocate | 92
As with the 2011, the 2010 Estate Blend is a perfect introduction into the wines of the estate and will compete with a number of other producer’s top wine.  A blend of 56% Syrah, 26% Grenache, 11% Mourvedre and 7% Tempranillo, it has loads of chocolaty black fruits, licorice, tar, pepper and chalky minerality to go with a great palate.  Textured, rich and drinking well beyond most estate’s entry-level offering, with serious depth and focus, it will continue to impress for 5-7 years.  Drink now-2018.  –  August 2013 (Jeb Dunnuck)

2009 Estate Blend

Vinous | 91
Bright purple. Intense raspberry and cherry aromas are lifted by notes of peppery spice and fresh rose. Lively and well-focused, with juicy red berry and bitter cherry flavors that stain the palate. Finishes with very good clarity and length, the cherry note repeating. I’d have guessed that there was more tempranillo in here. – November 2011 (Josh Raynolds)