The 2008 Authenticity is a gorgeous wine layered with dark fruit, espresso, licorice, spices, all of which come together in a rich, sensual style of notable class and elegance. Soft and voluptuous through to the finish, Authenticity shows tremendous balance and tons of personality. It is a big, bold red to drink now and over the next decade or so that presents the more refined, domesticated side of Syrah. The 2008 Authenticity spent 22 months in French barrels, 52% new. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2020. Epoch is a new project headed by owners Bill and Liz Armstrong. The estate is made up of three major holdings. The first is Paderewski vineyard, which the Armstrongs purchased in 2005 and re-planted with the help of Justin Smith of Saxum, who also serves as consulting oenologist. This 300+ acre holding once belonged to celebrated musician and politician Ignacy Paderewski, one of the early pioneers in Paso Robles. So far, all of the Epoch wines have been made from Paderewski, which has a relatively warm microclimate. More recently, the estate added the 30-acre Catapult Vineyard, a cooler-climate site next to Booker Vineyard and purchased the York Mountain Winery, another historic property in Paso, that is currently undergoing renovations and that will become the estate’s winemaking facility. New vineyards will be planted here as well. Jordan Fiorentini runs the day to day winemaking. The wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts and bottled with no fining or filtration. Epoch is among the estates that uses concrete to ferment some of their wines. So far, Epoch has used concrete mostly for Grenache and Mourvedre. The 2009s were aged in French oak for 20-23 months, 30-45% new, depending on the wine. Fiorentini found the 2008s in the cellar when she arrived in 2010. She finished the elevage and made the final blends. The 2009s I tasted suggest her style is a bit more finessed driven, although some of that may be attributable to the vintage. It will be interesting to find out. In 2008 the estate suffered through frost and drought conditions with very little rain, both of which resulted in low yields. The 2009s are the result of a season that was mostly cool, until heat spikes in August caused sugars to rise quickly. The estate brought in all of their fruit before the October 13 downpour. Tel (805) 237-2011. www.epochwines.com

The inky blue/purple 2008 Authenticity, which is 100% Syrah (the estate had some qualitative issues with the Grenache in 2008) possesses notes of pen ink, lead pencil shavings, blueberry pie, and charcoal-infused blackberries. The tannins are supple, and the wine massive and rich, but at the same time elegant and well-proportioned, with good freshness and vibrancy due to the limestone soils. This is a big powerhouse of a wine, yet is well-balanced and pure. The proprietors of Epoch, the Armstrong family, have overseen the rebirth of a historic vineyard once owned by the philanthropist and musician, Ignacy Jan Paderewski. This site was dedicated to Zinfandel in the early 1900s. Prohibition put an end to that, but that vineyard is now one of three estate vineyards comprising this 95-acre project. One part of Epoch is near Peachy Canyon, a big chunk of it sits next to the Booker Vineyard, and the rest is on York Mountain. The ambition of the Armstrongs is to produce 100% estate wines, and of the 95 acres, 60 are planted with southern Rhone varietals, and the rest with Tempranillo. Saxum’s Justin Smith, who serves as a consultant, told me that he thinks the micro-climate is slightly warmer than his James Berry vineyard. The first releases, which I tasted, are exceptional, so this looks to be a promising new venture. Of course, it has been launched under economically challenging conditions, but the quality of these wines should triumph over our recessionary times.www.epochwines.com

Offering aromas of fresh-cut flowers, plum and berry jam, with lots of dark berry fruit scents, this is big and concentrated, yet manages to be supple midpalate and dense and chewy on the finish, ending with cascading berry, mineral, mocha and espresso notes. Drink now through 2021. 242 cases made. -JL