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| Don and the Golden Bear |
Don
Brady is originally from Texas, but doesn’t that explain the whole of it. I
like many people from Texas and the wine scene there represented best by the Hill Country is coming of age, albeit
slowly and with great challenges. Don learned winemaking there, came to
California, and has been the only winemaker that Robert Hall Winery in Paso
Robles has ever known. And that, my friends, is a good thing. I’ve known
Don for years, and he makes terrific wine, so to spend some time at the winery
tasting room and taste with him is always a welcome experience. The winery had
just won a major victory at the California
State Fair Wine Competition (which I was a judge at) so Don was feeling
pretty damn good. And why not? Robert Hall Winery located on the Eastside of
Paso Robles hammers out 60,000 cases (nearly a quarter of a million bottles) of
wine mainly dedicated to Cabernet Sauvignon. 2nd is Syrah, and Rhone varieties
which Paso does okay with but the Bordeaux varieties are quickly becoming their
signature. “We have the heat units to get Cabernet ripe here,” Don says with
his slight Texas drawl.
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| Don Brady and Yours Truly |
But it is Merlot,
that quirky, under appreciated and weirdly mis-understood grape where Don hits a
home run, year after year. And he and I share a secret love of this maligned
grape, in part because Don seems to understand the soul of Merlot better than
most people in California. I offer a review of his 2010 Merlot here (2010 MERLOT), and
the 2011 is currently available. My cohort in wine Joe Roberts of 1 Wine Dude
tasted it at my urging, and rated it a B+ and Joe knows what the hell he’s
doing. Definitely put Robert Hall Winery on your short list when you visit Paso Robles.
What We Tasted Together:
~2011
Syrah ($18) is blended with a little Grenache resulting in a bacon fat, smooth
mouthfeel.
~2004
Merlot (N/A) Don graciously pulls out a 2004 Merlot for me (oh yeah, baby) and
it shows that Don has been attentive to Merlot for a long time. The wine, no
longer available though I savored each sip, is rich with blackberry, blueberry,
cedar, cocoa, vanilla and the ability to make you audibly say, “wow.” And this,
to me, is where Robert Hall Winery shines “I think Robert Hall Merlot is one of
the best wines we make it’s a nice counterpart to Cabernet. It can be crazy
good, but the world doesn’t see it.”
~2011
Meritage ($40) Mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with a little Cab Franc
and Petit Verdot, it’s a hefty, lush blend. ROBERT HALL WINES
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