Eberle Winery

Gary Eberle has often been a man ahead of his time. He arrived in Paso Robles in 1973, when it was hardly what you’d call wine country. He was the first California vintner to produce a wine that was 100 percent Syrah (and had at least one wine writer tell him that there was no Syrah in California, so the wine must be Petite Sirah).

When Eberle first produced a blend of Mourvedre, Syrah and Grenache called Côtes-du-Rôbles, he had to explain it to everyone. (Blend of Rhone grapes, play on Cotes-du-Rhone, get it?) Eventually, he discontinued the wine. Now it seems that everyone in Paso Robles (and Barossa Valley and elsewhere) produces this sort of blend, so Côtes-du-Rôbles is finally back after a 10-year hiatus.

Each grape variety was fermented separately; upon completion of malolactic fermentation, the blend was made, and the wine went into French oak barrels (20 percent new) and aged for 16 months. The result is an easy-to-drink, medium-weight wine with plenty of juicy strawberry and black raspberry flavors, accented by a note of mocha. It’s nicely balanced, with a long finish. You could drink it with something full-flavored and fancy, but at $20, Côtes-du-Rôbles is reasonably enough priced to drink with a pizza.

Reviewed December 20, 2006 by Laurie Daniel.