2002 Cayucos Cellars Paso Robles Zinfandel

Mission Codename: Unfathomable Potential

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Wine Spies Operatives demand great Zinfandel – the more concentrated the better. Send Agent Red to the Paso Robles to retrieve a mega Paso Zin

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Cayucos Cellars

Wine Subject: 2002 Zinfandel

Winemaker: Stuart Selkirk

Backgrounder:

Reports have been flooding in to Wine Spies Central Command about and their passion for crafting richly delicious artisan wines. After visiting the winery, Agent Red returns to Central Command with his spoils, a load of bottles of today’s great Zinfandel. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes and mission report below

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep garnet to almost burgundy in color with perfect clarity and color that remains concentrated right to the edges of the wine. This wine has a tight and shimmery surface that settles quickly when swirled, leaving behind skinny legs that creep down the glass

Smell – A deep inhalation delivers a deep rush of layered fruits of juicy raspberry, blackberry, and plum, with wonderful spice, cocoa, henna (unique!), black pepper and earthen components

Feel – Round and wet, then slightly tight and velvety smooth, mouth-coating and supple with great medium tannins that dry and make you want to smack your lips!

Taste – Delicious and concentrated without being overpowering. The wine has layers of sweet berry jam, ripe plum, cherry, pomegranate, raspberry, a hint of rosemary and mild spice

Finish – Rich layers of flavor taper slowly, leaving behind a slight dryness and sweetness that makes you yearn for your next big sip. An interesting note: A flavor of toasty sweetwood appears long after you swallow the wine. I discovered it by waiting for a long interval between sips. Unique and really tasty!

Conclusion – This is a GREAT wine, making me an instant Cayucos fan. Deeply concentrated with big jammy flavors, this wine tastes great. The feel is perfect and the finish is long, with a unique follow-on or secondary finish of toasty sweetwood. Overall, a really great wine with a fabulous QPR!

Winemaker Debrief:

The following is a transcript of Agent Red’s recent conversation with Cayucos’ winemaker Stuart Selkirk:

AGENT RED: I know that you are busy today, so we’ll keep this brief.

STUART SELKIRK: Whew!

RED: Have you always been a local wine guy?

STUART: Local guy, yes, wine guy, no. I was born and raised here in Cayucos I was a builder once upon a time. Then, one day in 1983, I learned that a friend was growing grapes. I started fooling around with that, too. I got sucked in to the business sideways!

RED: You’ve been making wine since then?

STUART: Yes, but not good wine. That is, not until after I had learned by trial and error. Although, I always made wine in the Swiss method, allowing nature to do its thing – without too much interference.

RED: So, you are more of a steward than a scientist when it comes to making wine?

STUART: Exactly!

RED: When did you finally go commercial?

STUART: Well, my hobby became a business when, in 1995, I made too much wine. Like an idiot, I got bonded and became a formal winery. Rather than give it all away, I figured I’d sell it. I never dreamed that I would be a full-time winemaker.

RED: Your wines stay in barrel for a long time – up to 7 years, I have heard. Why so long.

STUART: I use only neutral oak, which imparts no flavors to the wines. This leads to more of the fruit coming through, where oak can tend to overpower a wine – or be poorly integrated with a wine.

RED: The fruit certainly does come through in today’s wine. Can you tell me about your vineyard sources?

STUART: Well, I could tell you, but then, you know…

RED: Ahhh. You must have a Top Secret source. Can’t tell us who you buy your fruit from?

STUART: Nope. I can tell you that one of the vineyards produces Zinfandels that cost around $50. Mine is just $28. Even less on The Wine Spies during your one-day sale.

RED: We like Top Secret sources! Your wine is great and I’ll be sure to ask our Operatives to review the wine once they get their hands on some. Thanks for spending this time with me today!

STUART: My pleasure…

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of Cayucos Cellars tasting room can be seen in this satellite photo.