Ingenuity
Syrah leads this luscious blend of Grenache and Mourvèdre to play nicely with its signature dash of Petite Sirah. Though the majority of its fruit comes from both Paderewski and Catapult Vineyards, the Petite Sirah hails solely from one west-facing limestone area on our Paderewski Vineyard.
Vintage Details:
2021
Varietal: 74% Petite Sirah, 10% Grenache, 7% Mourvèdre, 6% Syrah, 3% Viognier
Birthplace: 94% Paderewski Vineyard, 6% York Mountain Vineyard
Hometown: Paso Robles AVA, Willow Creek District
Birth Date: September 17 – October 7, 2021
Birth Weight: __° Brix
Rearing: Fermented in concrete & oak tanks and new French oak puncheons
Education: Aged 18 months in French oak barrels and puncheons (35% new)
GPA: 3.94 pH | 5.6 g/L TA | 15.2% Alc.
Graduation: Bottled June 19, 2023
Siblings: 526 cases
Biography: Coming Soon – Jordan Fiorentini, Winemaker
Accolades: 94 points – Jeb Dunnuck, 94 points – Wine Advocate, 94 points – Vinous
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2020
Varietal: 51% Petite Sirah, 25% Grenache, 22% Mourvèdre, 2% Syrah
Birthplace: 100% Paderewski Vineyard
Hometown: Paso Robles AVA, Willow Creek District
Birth Date: September 25 – October 1, 2020
Birth Weight: 26.9º Brix
Rearing: Fermented in concrete, stainless steel tanks, and new French oak puncheons
Education: Aged 19 months in French oak barrels and puncheons (30% new)
GPA: 3.71 pH | 5.4 g/L TA | 15.3% Alc.
Graduation: Bottled July 28, 2022
Siblings: 916 cases
Biography: With its juicy, mouth-watering and blue fruits, Epoch’s 2020 Ingenuity transports you to the summer huckleberry patch but quickly layers on savory elements of cured meats, kalamata olives, black pepper, and coastal chaparral. Despite the obvious bold intensity of this wine, a more delicate, wet rock minerality pervades the nose and palate, playing beautifully with this wine’s refreshing acidity. The texture flows in a wave-like sensation across the palate with chalky tannins setting in after multiple sips. – Jordan Fiorentini, Winemaker
Accolades: 95 points, Jeb Dunnuck
2019
Varietials: 71% Petite Sirah, 14% Mourvèdre, 12% Grenache, 3% Syrah
Birth Place: 100% Paderewski Vineyard
Hometown: Willow Creek District, Paso Robles
Siblings: 855 cases
Birthdate: October 3 – October 15, 2019
Birth Weight: 27.1 Brix
Rearing: Fermented in new French oak puncheons, stainless steel, and concrete
Education: Aged 18 months in French oak barrels and puncheons (52% new)
GPA: 4.02 pH | 5.6 g/L TA | 15.2% Alc.
Graduation: Bottled July 24, 2021
Biography: Entering dark and sultry at first sniff with aromas of dark earth, blackberry, black licorice, mocha, and vanilla, the 2019 Ingenuity becomes brighter and lighter as it hits the palate. Our beloved proprietary blend combines the robustness of Petite Sirah with the playfulness of Grenache and the grounding nature of Mourvèdre for a wine that has all the gears to keep you entertained and enthralled. The Petite offers black fruits, roasted herbs, rare red meat, gobs of structure; Grenache provides a boost of fresh red fruit and minerality; and Mourvèdre seals together/tames with its earthy roundness. A complex union of flavors encircles the palate – roasted coffee beans, graphite, vanilla, bramble berry fruit, loads of milk chocolate, cigar box aromas – and black licorice and coffee linger on the finish.
Accolades: Wine Advocate 96, Jeb Dunnuck 96
2018
Varietals: 36% Petite Sirah, 30% Syrah, 22% Mourvèdre, 12% Grenache
Birth Place: 77% Paderewski and 23% Catapult Vineyards
Hometown: Willow Creek District, Paso Robles
Siblings: 828 cases
Birthdate: September 18 – October 9, 2018
Birth Weight: 26.5 Brix
Rearing: Fermented in stainless steel tanks and ½-ton puncheons
Education: Aged 19 months in French oak mid-sized barrels and puncheons (52% new)
GPA: 3.73 pH | 5.6 g/L TA | 15.1% Alc.
Graduation: Bottled July 14, 2020
Biography: A show-stopping effort for Petite Sirah, the 2018 Ingenuity boasts pure wine entertainment and west Paso character. Seductively bold and intense at first, huge aromas boom from the glass in all the right ways – sweet black tar, licorice spice, juicy blackberries, vanilla toast, lavender, and California chaparral – and the palate corsets all the boldness into elegant, mouthwatering sensations. The texture is of its own creation with this iconoclastic Petite Sirah-led Rhône blend. This gorgeously flavored wine is easy on the eyes too!
Accolades: Jeb Dunnuck 94-96
2017
Varieties: 56% Petite Sirah, 16% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah, 13% Grenache
Birth Place: 100% Paderewski Vineyard
Hometown: Willow Creek, Paso Robles
Siblings: 667 Cases
Birthdate: August 31st – Otober 12th, 2017
Rearing: Fermented in concrete, oak and stainless steel tanks, and oak puncheons and bins
Education: Aged 19 months in French oak barrels and puncheons (51% new)
GPA: 3.82 pH | 5.6 g/L TA | 15.5% Alc.
Graduation: Bottled June 12th, 2019
Biography: Announcing Petite Sirah as the leading grape for the first time ever in the 2017 Ingenuity! We’ve been working towards this monumental shift in this blend’s makeup for many years, and now, it’s here to stay. It is still the “Paso Roblean Rhone Blend” that we all know and love, but with a bit more identity, purpose and well, Petite-Sirah-ness. You’re gonna love it!
Accolades: Jeb Dunnuck 95, Vinous 95, Wine Advocate 92+
2016
Varietals:54% Syrah, 20% Petite Sirah, 16% Mourvèdre, 10% Grenache
Birth Place: 70% Paderewski and 30% Catapult Vineyards
Hometown: Willow Creek, Paso Robles
Siblings: 1,003 Cases Produced
Birthdate: August 30 – September 26, 2016
Rearing: Fermented in concrete, stainless steel and one-ton bins (overall 10% whole cluster)
Education: Aged 19 months in French oak barrels and puncheons (75% new)
GPA: 3.79 pH | 6.2 g/L TA | 15.3% Alc.
Graduation: Bottled July 24, 2018
Biography: The myriad of juicy, herbal and reductive aromas at first sniff are indicative of the four varieties that make up the 2016 Ingenuity bottling – Syrah, Petite Sirah, Mourvèdre and Grenache. The healthy dollop of Petite Sirah in this year’s blend, 20%, gives great palate delineation and more seriousness to the blend. Broad flavors of red & blue juicy fruits, eucalyptus, white pepper, fresh herb garden, rose petals, black tar, and dried meats travel across the front to mid palate. Then, sensations focus on the back of the mouth with bold tannins from Syrah and Petite Sirah, which lengthen the wine and make for long aging potential.
Accolades: Wine Advocate 96, Jeb Dunnuck 95+, Vinous 95
2015
Varietals:51% Syrah, 28% Mourvèdre, 14 % Petite Sirah, 7% Grenache
Birth Place: 67% Paderewski and 33% Catapult Vineyards
Hometown: Willow Creek, Paso Robles
Siblings: 1,128 Cases Produced
Birthdate: September 10 – 24, 2015
Rearing: Fermented in concrete, stainless steel and oak tanks
Education: Aged 19 months in French oak barrels and puncheons (60% new)
GPA: 3.82 pH | 5.8 g/L TA | 15.2% Alc.
Graduation: Bottled June 5, 2017
Biography: The 2015 Ingenuity presents all its characteristic black and blue fruits, spice and licorice, however, it does so in a more reserved fashion than most vintages. This California Rhône blend continues to reveal fresh aromatics after being open for 24-plus-hours, and the tannins move from picante to velvety as oxygen soften their structure. Enjoy the bramble berry, roasted herbs, smoke meats, graphite, wet rock and sweet tobacco notes that ride high on the palate, continuously evolving.
Accolades: Jeb Dunnuck 97, Wine Enthusiast 96, Vinous 95, Wine Advocate 92, Wine Spectator 91
2014
Varietals:50% Syrah, 25% Grenache, 18% Mourvèdre, 7% Petite Sirah
Birth Place: 64% Catapult and 36% Paderewski Vineyards
Hometown: Willow Creek, Paso Robles
Siblings: 1,609 Cases Produced
Birthdate: August 22 – October 1, 2014
Rearing: Fermented in stainless steel and concrete tanks, ½- ton French oak puncheons and 1-ton bins
Education: Aged 18 months in French oak barrels and puncheons (36% new)
GPA: 3.73 pH | 5.7 g/L TA | 15.7% Alc.
Graduation: Bottled June 14, 2016
Biography: Explosive on the first pour, I can’t get enough of the aromas – so much delicious fruit, sweet black licorice and warm summer brush. Counter-intuitively, but so indicative of Epoch’s multi-varietal Rhone Blends when young, this wine becomes more convoluted and serious the more you sniff and taste. So outwardly vivacious on the first few sips, you’d think her personality would tame in the glass, but touché, she grows serious and more complex, leaving you yearning for what’s to come. With a great acid backbone and focused fruit, more grounding attributes of earth, sweet tar, dried sage and briney olives present themselves once your senses grow accustomed to her outward fruity beauty.
Accolades: Jeb Dunnuck 95, Wine Enthusiast 95 & Cellar Selection, Wine Advocate 94, Vinous 93
2013
Birth Place: 76% Paderewski and 24% Catapult Vineyards
Hometown: Willow Creek, Paso Robles
Varietals: 54% Syrah, 21% Mourvèdre, 16% Grenache, 9% Petite Sirah
Siblings: 1,380 Cases Produced
Birthdate: August 24 – October 4, 2013
Birth weight: 26.7° Brix
Rearing: Fermented ~26% whole cluster in concrete and stainless steel tanks, ½-ton French oak puncheons and 1-ton bins
Education: Aged for 17 months in 49% new French oak barrels and puncheons
GPA: 3.76 pH | 5.6 g/L TA | 15.8% Alc.
Graduation: Bottled April 21, 2015
Biography: The 2013 Ingenuity is a poster child for our beloved GSM + Petite Syrah blend. As usual, neither too feminine nor too masculine in nature, Ingenuity does not play by the wine rule book. So much juicy red Grenache fruit explodes on the front to mid palate, with Syrah giving palatial depth and velvety tannins. Petite Sirah accentuates the texture, and Mourvèdre binds the whole package together and grounds the wine in subtle earthy tones. Exuberantly Paso yet sublimely restrained. Total yum!
Accolades: Wine Advocate 96, Wine Enthusiast 94 & Cellar Selection, Vinous 93, Wine Spectator 93
2012
Varietals: 58% Syrah, 18% Mourvèdre, 14% Grenache, and 10% Petite Sirah
Birthplace: 80% Paderewski and 20% Catapult Vineyards
Hometown: Willow Creek, Paso Robles
Siblings: 1,330 Cases
Birthdate: September 19 – October 22, 2012
Birth Weight: 26.7° Brix
Rearing: Fermented ~ 32% whole cluster in concrete and stainless steel tanks, one-ton bins and ½ ton French oak puncheons. Many lots were co-fermentations.
Education: Aged for 18 months in 40% new French oak barrels and puncheons
GPA: 3.73 pH | 5.8 g/L TA | 15.6% Alc.
Graduation: Bottled June 2014
Biography: The 2012 Ingenuity will invade your being with West Paso, as its aromas and flavors hit all the senses; there is no denying its roots. While both feminine and masculine character, this wine tells the tale of Rhône grapes grown on our calcareous and fractured shale hillsides – intense, bright, intriguing, juicy, mouth-watering and spicy! With its explosive combination of black, blue and raspberry fruits, sweet licorice, blood orange, grilled herbs, tartare and violets, Ingenuity does our beloved terroir justice with a roller coaster of flavors.
Accolades: Wine Advocate 94, International Wine Report 94, Vinous 92
2011
Varietals: 55% Syrah, 17% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, 13% Petite Sirah
Birthplace: Paderewski Vineyard, Paso Robles
Rearing: Fermented in concrete and stainless steel tanks, French oak puncheons, and one-ton bins
Education: Aged 17 months in 45% new French oak
Siblings: 974 cases produced
Biography: The nose on this wine weaves in and out of fruit and spice, sending your taste buds and thoughts in a myriad of different directions. Predominantly Syrah with almost equal parts Grenache, Mourvèdre and Petite Sirah, this spicy rendition of the Paderewski Vineyard represents the exciting aspects of what a cooler year like 2011 can yield in Paso Robles – great acidity, spice and savory fruit. – Jordan Fiorentini, Winemaker
Accolades: Wine Advocate 95, International Wine Cellar 93+, Vinous 93, Wine Enthusiast 93 & Cellar Selection, Wine Spectator 92
2010
Varietals: 62% Syrah, 14% Mourvèdre, 12% Grenache, 12% Petite Sirah
Birthplace: Paderewski Vineyard, Paso Robles
Rearing: Fermented in stainless steel tanks, French oak puncheons and one-ton bins
Education: Aged for 20 months in 61% new French oak
Siblings: 827 cases produced
Biography: Perfectly Epoch in smell, flavor and feel, our Ingenuity continues to dance on our tongues as a Syrah-based GSM blend from Paderewski with a dash of Petite Sirah for its unique texture. – Jordan Fiorentini, Winemaker
Accolades: International Wine Report 94, Jeb Dunnuck 94, Rhone Report 94, Vinous 93, Wine Advocate 93, Wine Spectator 90
2009
Varietals: 65% Syrah, 12% Petite Sirah, 12% Mourvèdre, 7% Grenache, 4% Zinfandel
Birthplace: Paderewski Vineyard, Paso Robles
Education: Aged for 23 months in 42% new French oak barrels and puncheons
Siblings: 752 cases produced
Biography: Although predominantly Syrah in percentage, Petite Sirah, Mourvèdre and Grenache do not take a back-seat in the 2009 Ingenuity. One sniff takes you directly to a delicious Rhône experience – sun-drenched bay leaves, warm lavender, raspberry coulis – all framed by vanilla bean and brown spices. Its palate is astoundingly bright with fruit and acidity, ripe red cherry and blackberry flavors crescendo mid-palate. Tannins are velvety and the finish lingers with subtle hints of licorice, tobacco and brown tea leaves. – Jordan Fiorentini, Winemaker
Accolades: Jeb Dunnuck 95, Rhone Report 95, Vinous 94, Wine Advocate 94, Wine Spectator 92
2008
Varietals: 61% Syrah, 17% Grenache, 14% Petite Sirah, 8% Mourvèdre
Birthplace: Paderewski Vineyard, Paso Robles
Education: Aged 22 months in 32% new French oak barrels
Siblings: 415 cases produced
Biography: Already a classic, this “California blend” combines Rhône varieties with Petit Sirah. Ingenuity is our unique blend of the various Rhône varieties planted on our estate along with Petite Sirah. The Grenache offers bright forward fruit and exuberance, while the Syrah and Petite Sirah contribute more serious structural elements. Drink now or with 5-10 years cellar age.
Accolades: Jeb Dunnuck 95, Rhone Report 95, Wine Spectator 95, Vinous 93, Wine Advocate 93
2007
Varietals: 46% Grenache, 43% Syrah , 9% Petite Sirah, 1% Mourvèdre, 1% Zinfandel
Birthplace: Paderewski Vineyard, Paso Robles
Education: Aged 14 months in barrel with 75% new French oak
Siblings: 327 cases produced
Biography: Gorgeous fruit, acidity and tannins … balance and harmony. One of our three Rhône blends, the 2007 Ingenuity harmoniously joins together five different grape varieties and weaves them into an intricate, compelling wine. Aromas and flavors are various, candied red cherries, blackberries, orange pith, coffee, vanilla and Christmas spice. The palate shows bright acidity along with a defined structure, coating all parts of the mouth. Drink now or with 5-10 years cellar age.
Accolades: Jeb Dunnuck 94, Rhone Report 94, Wine Spectator 94, Wine Advocate 93, Vinous 92
