My wife and I recently visited Adelaida Cellars in Paso Robles and purchased the 2006 Recess Red for $15.00 from the winery. The Recess Red is a current release from 'Schoolhouse', Adelaida's third label below the more expensive Reserve and Adelaida labels. According to the winemaker, the grapes that make up this wine come from the same vineyards as the more expensive labels. It is a blend of ten varietals (!) and the composition is as follows: 32% Syrah, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Zinfandel, 9% Touriga National, 7% Pinot Noir, 6% Grenache, 5% Gamay Noir, 5% Mouvedre, 2% Cinsault, and 1% Counoise. The wine spent 26 months in French Oak (10% new) and is rated at 14.5% ABV.
The Recess Red exhibited a deep garnet color with good fruit flavors on the nose and palate. It had a medium body with good mouth feel. At the back end, the wine showed a pleasant spice that introduced a balanced, short/medium-length finish. The wine does not appear to be an after thought on the part of the wine makers. It was a good effort for a third label wine and I wonder how long it took the blenders to decide the final proportions for each of the ten varietals present. The Recess Red is a good and approachable wine but I have some reservations about purchasing the wine at its full retail price* (i.e., at a retail store and not at the winery) .
*I definitely recommend visiting Adelaida Cellars in Paso Robles. The staff in the tasting room was very helpful, down to earth, and more than happy to talk about their wine and other things, such as Southern California high school football. There is a $10 tasting fee that can be applied to any wine purchase. It's also worth noting that, during our trip to Paso Robles, Adelaida's Pinot Noir HMR Estate Reserve 2007 ($50) was one of the more memorable wines we tasted.
