2008 Sans Liege Cotes-du-Coast

Sans Liege is a young winery founded and run by maverick winemaker Curt Schalchlin. The name of the winery means “without a master,” and from the off-beat names he chooses for his wines, to his headquarters in Pismo Beach, Schalchlin is earning a reputation for championing Rhone Valley-inspired wines crafted from Central Coast fruit. Schalchlin sources fruit from vineyards up and down the Central Coast, from Paso Robles to Santa Barbara County, and he makes a large portfolio of red and white wines, many of them blends. He works with Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne and Counoise. Wine Advocate has rated Sans Liege wines in the low 90s, and noted in 2014 that “Curt Schalchlin continues to produce a bevy of outstanding wines under his Sans Liege label. These never lack for fruit, texture or character…”

Paso Robles AVA is midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and it is considered one of the West Coast’s most exciting winemaking regions. With its hot, sometimes searingly dry and sunny weather, it is especially good country for growing warm climate grapes such as Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. Because many Paso Robles wineries have been successful with blending these grapes into Rhone Valley-style wines, it is known as the Rhone zone of California. The AVA was created in 1983 and there are 32,000 vineyard acres. In late 2014 the AVA was divided into 11 smaller sub-appellations, so starting with 2015 vintages labeling will become more specific on Paso Robles wines, which will now also list sub-appellations. Located in San Luis Obispo County, Paso Robles, the town and its surrounding area, was traditionally a farming and ranching region. But from a few dozen wineries in the early 1990s to more than 200 today, the area is quickly becoming known for wine and risk-taking winemakers.