Region: Santa Barbara, California

Vintage: 2018

Composition: 100% Grenache

History: After completing an informal internship with the legendary Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat, Paul Lato began making his own wine at Central Coast Wine Services, an incubator of numerous talents over the years. Then, as he puts it, “Robert Parker, by a stroke of luck, tasted my 2002 vintage about a year and a half after it was made. The wine was bottled, but I didn’t have a label or a name for my cellar.” Then Parker, who tasted both Pinot Noir and Syrah, looked at me and said, “You have real talent. Hurry up with those names, I want to be the first to write about you.”

Tasting Notes:

“Black cherries, peppery herbs, crushed stone, and floral notes all show on the nose, and it’s medium to full-bodied, structured, and concentrated.” – Jeb Dunnuck