Page 106 - SLO Visitors Guide Summer 2023

Wine Tasting
to the ocean as possible for that cooling influence of the fog with our roots in a south-facing slope
in calcareous soil. Some of the best regions in the world are planted on calcareous soil. If you like wines from calcareous soil, the minerality, the great acids and the age ability, Paso is ground zero.” With the
help of friends, Simon and Anna Hackett of Australia, the Grindleys started Brecon Estate in 2012. Situ- ated on the Westside of the Paso Robles wine region, Brecon Estate boasts calcareous soil and the influ- ence of the nearby ocean fogs.
The influence of the coastal fog makes for long hang times for the grapes allowing the fruit to get past many of those green notes generally found with Cabernet, Cabernet Franc, and Bordeaux varietals. About 25 acres are planted on the 40-acre Brecon Estate – 14.5 acres of cabernet sauvignon, 5.5 of cab- ernet franc, 1.5 of tannat, 3.3 petit verdot and 1.3 of malbec.
“We can make an excellent Meritage from this property. These are old vines so they don’t neces- sarily have the structure or color of
a modern clone but they are way more complex. They have a broader spectrum of flavors because every vine and every bunch is in a dif- ferent stage of production and the wines come out way more interest- ing,” said Grindley.
Grindley calls the late Art Nor- man, the original property owner, a visionary for planting Bordeaux varietals of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. “We have the oldest of both of these vines in Paso,”
he said. “We hear about the old zinfandels, but there’s very little old Bordeaux.”
Award-winners year after year
And just how do Grindley and the team at Brecon Estate manage to deliver award-winning wines year after year?
“The trick,” said Grindley, “is having everything you make be good across the board and that’s ac- tually harder than making one great wine. It’s also about not growing too big too quickly; keeping those small, interesting parcels and not trying to double production every
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1315 N. BETHEL ROAD • TEMPLETON, CA 93465 • 888-DAM-FINE
106 SUMMER 2023
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