2021 Caelesta "Parallax - Estate" Templeton Gap District Rhône Blend

An intensely dark and rich carob-like aroma draws the nose through black fruit and into this dense blend of 54% Mourvèdre, 32% Syrah and 14% Grenache. The texture is smoothly layered on the palate, where dark chocolate, toasted pecan and dark boysenberry flavors ride firm tannins through the finish. (MK)

Wow! Do we ever have a deal for you Insider's Advantage folks today! I'm still pinching myself a little on this one...pure Paso goodness from an incredible, rising star winery, for a simply ridiculous price...and double 94-point scores from Jeb Dunnuck and Wine Enthusiast! Caelestra is a relatively new estate based in the Templeton Gap District of Paso Robles. The vines on the estate are planted on steep hillsides, underpinned by west side Paso's famed calcareous soils. The warm sunny days, cool windy nights, steep rocky slopes, and ancient marine sedimentary soils, produce wines of incredible flavor and character. Young winemaker Brian Farrell learned his craft at top Paso wineries (such as Denner) plus harvests in Australia's Barossa Valley honing his skills with Rhone varieties. Now back at his family's estate, with the vines hitting maturity, his powerful, layered wines are starting to attract the attention from many top wine critics. The 2021 Parallax is a classic southern Rhone style blend of 54% Mourvèdre, 32% Syrah, and 14% Grenache. I love how Mourvèdre is the dominant force in this wine. If there's one thing Paso Robles wines have in spades it's rich, ripe fruit; Grenache and Syrah provide decadent, exotic fruit with ease. But, the Mourvèdre in this blend adds a really cool, earthy, gamey complexity the elevates it above many peers in terms of complexity. The late ripening tendency of Mourvèdre also also means that this wine has great natural acidity and vibrancy on the palate to balance the more overt fruit characters. The wine shows dried rose petal, dark red berry fruits, crushed blackcurrant, cocoa powder, liquored cherry, hints of smoked meat, scorched earth, dried chaparral, Asian spice notes. Medium-full bodied, structured, but not overly so. Certainly approachable now or over the next 5-10 years. Try with a Santa Maria rubbed tri-tip, or even smoky St. Louis ribs. Ummmm - so good and satisfying. This is a crazy good bottle of wine for the money and likely won't last long! The winery made us a deeply discounted deal here that's 70% off the original SRP!