2020 Vina Robles FORE Estate Petite Sirah Paso Robles 750 ml

Drive through Paso Robles on Highway 101 and you’ll be captivated: The two-lane highway bisects cascading hills interspersed with vineyards and centurion Valley Oaks. Thirty miles from the Pacific, it’s Eden. 

But the secret to Paso’s stunning, value-packed wines is invisible without a topo map. The hillsides form a protective barrier against the Pacific, channeling cool breezes through the narrow Templeton Gap. The resulting winds conspire with varying altitudes to create dramatic temperature shifts, ensuring balance and slow, measured ripening. Beneath the ground, a patchwork of limestone, clay, and alluvial deposits rival the soil makeup of blue-chip regions. 

This combination is ideal for bold, dark Petite Sirah, which thrives in mild climates with unadulterated sunshine. Sourced from across Viña Robles’ 850 acres of prime estate vineyards, the 2020 Fore is Petite Sirah as it should be: bold, powerful, and built to last. Marrying silky flavors of plum and boysenberry with hints of caramel and oak spice, it’s a full-bodied red that’ll sing with your favorite cut of steak.  

Viña Robles got its start in the 1990s (well before the current Paso Robles Renaissance), and their wines display the depth and nuance that emerges when top sites get the star treatment—which is the only treatment proprietor Courtney Benham gives his wines. The value maven behind Martin Ray and his own eponymous label, Benham’s a master at achieving consistent high quality.

For the Fore Petite Sirah, the grapes were picked in the wee hours of the morning, then gently destemmed before sorting with a state-of-the-art optical sorter. This ensured that only the best Petite Sirah made it into fermentation—and it shows in a bottle overflowing with Paso Robles character.