Paso Robles yields great wine finds

My wife and I just returned from a wine trip with friends to Paso Robles, Calif. We were thrilled to visit a few vineyards and wineries on the west side of Highway 101 and were amazed at the light-gray soils, especially those on the slopes of the undulating hills.

Although the daytime temperatures could be quite high, they easily dropped into the 50s at night. We found that this range of temperatures has the potential to produce ripe, juicy fruit, and from those are made unique wines with a wonderful savory quality and intriguing minerality. Furthermore, each wine delivered high quality for the dollar.

Here are some of the standouts, well worth searching out:

>> 2016 Daou Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles (about $22 a bottle): The Daou brothers are leading the cabernet charge in this appellation with their high-scoring premium cabernet sauvignons and red-wine blends, such as the “Soul of a Lion” and “Mayote.”

It is this bottling, however, that will appeal to a broad range of wine buyers because it delivers big for the price point. Even as past several vintages have garnered scores of more than 90 points, customers can get a bottle at around $22. How can you go wrong?

>> 2016 Ancient Peaks Zinfandel, Paso Robles (about $18): This trip reaffirmed that wine shoppers should seek out this label. Where else can you access the wine of a family-owned and run estate vineyard of this caliber, at this price?

The 2015 has loads of sumptuous, juicy, spiced fruit with wonderful texture and balance, making it ideal with a wide spectrum of foods.

>> 2016 Villa Creek White (about $36): Villa Creek is widely regarded as one of the top wineries out of the Paso Robles appellation, and it has the high acclaim and scores to prove it.

The collection of 2104 reds made the finest line up I have tasted to date from owner and winemaker Cris Cherry.

This white wine, a blend of grenache blanc and roussanne grape varieties, proves to be a standout because of its delicately exotic perfume, mesmerizing minerality, seamlessness, structure and balance. If you love chardonnay, give this one a try.

>> 2012 Epoch “Veracity” (about $65): This winery owns and operates three spectacular vineyards that produce the grapes used in their myriad high-scoring, classy, full-flavored red wines.

The 2012 “Veracity” blend comprises mainly grenache, with smaller dollops of mourvedre and syrah. This 94-point-rated thoroughbred has unassuming depth, character and structure, all achieved with grace, style and class.

>> 2013 Linne Calodo “Outsider” (about $52): Linne Calodo is another of the most-heralded producers, not only in the area, but through all of California. The label produces a bevy of impactful, provocative, standout red wine blends.

The “Outsider” is a zinfandel-based bottling, quite masculine, surly, meaty and so wonderfully savory with power, seamlessness and texture. The core of minerality helps create buoyancy in the wine, which makes it seem much lighter and full-bodied than it really is.

Here’s a question for the avid wine collector: What can you buy out of Napa Valley at this same price?

Chuck Furuya is a master sommelier and a partner in the DK Restaurants group. Follow his blog at chuckfuruya.com.