MAHA Estate | Villa Creek Cellars

50% MAHA Estate, 50% James Berry Vineyard Like all great partners, Grenache and Mourvèdre compliment one another in every way, much like Calvin and Hobbs, Han and Chewie, and Venus and Serena. Its vermilion color lures you in for an explosion of aromas that jump starts the olfactory system with notes of Tunisian spices, fresh flowers, clementines, hashish and musk. The palate is textural and concentrated offering a finish that goes on for days. A bit of short term cellaring will the play here. If you have to be like Veruca Salt, double decant it, sit back and enjoy the show.

High Road is in its 19th vintage. From day one this wine has shown its place. The subtle changes over the years have been the winemaker’s interpretation of the vintage. A dark ruby color (like those slippers) grabs your attention to let you know you’re not in Kansas anymore. Vibrant red fruits, Moroccan spices and black licorice jump out of the glass. The palate is elegant, dark and juicy complicated with cassis, steeped cherries, violets and grilled lamb jus. Texturally intoxicating, it strikes a perfect balance of opulence and verve. Take a position on this one, so you have a few stashed for down the road. You will be glad you did! Drink 2023-2040

There are wines of place and wines of style. Wines of place have that “je ne sais quoi” and wines of style have a particular framework to them. ‘3’ is a wine of style, a “made” wine, if you will. Rather than being restricted to one growing site, the winemaker’s pantry expands, allowing for the complicated flavor profiles you get from blending vineyards together in a wine. Historically, ‘3’ has featured grapes from 3 vineyards, hence the name. This year, it is a wine from two sites, MAHA and Kirk Landry. Both vineyards bring nuances offered by their distinctly different growing locations and enhanced by the use of whole cluster fermentation on one of the Kirk Landry Syrah lots. The deep violet color creates a kaleidoscope on the edge of your stem as you swirl it. Intoxicating aromas emerge as you swirl your glass: cigar box, cinnamon, limestone, and purple flowers. The silky and elegant palate conjures days in your granny’s kitchen with notes of marshmallow, salted caramel, berry pie, and nori (probably not in your granny’s kitchen). Don’t let this wine fool you. It says drink me now BUT it really wants some time in the cellar to fatten up. Drink 2024-2045

The western hills of Paso Robles and the steep slopes of Priorat have a lot in common: unique, rocky soils, rugged terrain and proximity to water. They are both global sweet spots for Grenache and Carignan. With 2020 Understory, a blend of roughly equal parts Grenache, Carignan, and Mourvèdre come together to create a beautiful, seamless, and textural wine. The hue is akin to Dorthy’s ruby red slippers, bright and shimmering. The aromatics are a melange of red fruits, wild herbs, fennel pollen, and toasted marshmallow. The palate is energetic and athletic, medium to full in body with a dollop of raspberry confiture. The fine tannins and texture create a striking finish. Absolutely delicious!

This wine punches well above its weight class. The golden honey color grabs your attention. A playful and spicy bouquet of lemon curd, quince and ginger jump from the glass. A silky palate of grilled citrus, tropical fruits and nori blossom to an opulent wine framed with just the right amount of tension. The combination of power, energy and fruit here is something to behold. While enjoyable at the moment, do yourself a favor and lose a few of these in your cellar for a number of years. Drink 2022-2035

Since its inception, Avenger has been crafted to be a wine that is delicious, textural, age-worthy and very high in YUMMY-NESS. Many consider it our gateway wine: the wine you can roll into a dinner party with and check all the boxes…newbie, collector, old world and new world drinkers…CHECK. The amount of Syrah has varied over the years depending on its supporting cast members. This year, the band is back together and ready to play to SELL OUT dinners, BBQs, and stadiums around the world. Oxblood in color, the aromatics are seductive and energetic with notes of dark fruits, smoked meats, sweet tobacco and Moroccan spices. Black fruits, caramel, plum, and bacon fat come together to create a palate that is rich and energetic.

100% Grenache. Years ago at a Hospice du Rhône Banyuls panel discussion, we were intrigued by the idea that you could pair sweet wine with a savory dish. Banyuls is not your typical syrupy sweet dessert wine. This wine is light and bright on the pallet with dark cherry, vanilla and tobacco undertones. While it could indeed satisfy your dessert needs, pair it with seared duck breast on a plum sage reduction and a rich potato and onion gratin. This wine is pre-oxidized and will last months once opened and for years and years in the cellar.

“Grenache delivers everything that Pinot Noir promises…” -Unknown Grenache comprises 40% of the plantings here at the MAHA. We are always amazed at how and when the blocks ripen. They are at most a quarter mile from each other and they are usually picked 3 weeks apart. They all have unique profiles and it’s exciting to blend and create a singular wine. The vibrancy of color conveys a sense of energy and verve. Aromatics of pomegranate, anise, sweet tobacco and orange peel transition to a precise and concentrated palate conjuring flavors of tart cherry, raspberry, limestone, and cardamom. It is reminiscent of Volnay on steroids with a brighter personality. As we like to say. Grenache delivers everything that Pinot Noir promises. A bit of short term cellaring will pay off in spades.

The 2019 Bone White is wonderful balance of richness and tension. It is a wine for all seasons. Drink it cold on a warm summer day or at cellar temp on a cool winter night. Notes of orange marmalade, apricot and brioche tee up a generous palate of honey drizzled pear finished with a pinch of sea salt that transcends to a focused thread of minerality and freshness. This wine is firing on all cylinders at the moment but will age gracefully for 10-20 years.

The sum of the parts can often be greater than the whole. In this case, the blending of James Berry and MAHA does just that. The older vines of James Berry bring texture and a riper stone fruit component while the younger MAHA vines offer a more tropical and energetic profile. A seductive 24k gold color catches your eye and draws you in. Aromas of pineapple, grilled stone fruits, and limestone transition to a palate that is full in body offering notes of peaches and apricots drizzled with MAHA honey atop a savory shortbread cookie. Amazing definition and texture come together on the finish to have you coming back for more. While showing well now, it will continue to develop and gain complexity for at least a decade.

We continue to be intrigued with the potential that Clairette has here in west Paso. The 2021 Before Anyone Else has us very excited. A vintage with lower sugar at harvest has created a wine with stunning aromatics, great texture and just the right amount of mouth feel so that it grabs your FULL attention. Light straw in color transcends to a cornucopia of pineapple, stone fruit, brioche, and wet limestone on the nose. The palate is subtle upon first sip, then the fireworks begin (think a Guy Ritchie Film). The palate has you going in multiple directions, “is this Grand cru Burgundy or one of those unobtainable bangers from Sancerre”? Energetic yet rich with great length and salinity, this is ready to enjoy now but should cellar well for a decade.

This is the first time Syrah has been the lead character in Backlit. Our MAHA Syrah is showing great promise. Its rich, complex palate is like an everlasting gobstopper of flavors and texture. It’s a unique medley of old world aromatics with a new world palate. Blended with the other varieties, you get a wine with unreal balance and umami. A sultry shade of oxblood entice you into a stunning nose of black fruits, violets, cardamom and asphalt. A medley of macerated plums with tamari, kissed with a fresh Shiso leaf, create a palate of elegance and power. The finish is pure, taught and vibrant signaling that a few years of cellaring would be beneficial. In the near term, an aerating decant several hours prior to enjoying, should suffice.