Blended Vintages Spectacular

Candor Zinfandel Lot 2, California

Candor Merlot Lot 2, California

Cost:$18-20 each

What: Hope Family Wines has decided to go against the grain with these two wines, mixing vineyards, regions and vintages. Most American wines stick to grapes from one year, and many only use grapes from one region or even one vineyard.

The result is spectacular, producing smooth, well-rounded wines with plenty of depth and complexity. The Zinfandel, for instance, is the essence of Zin, what you always hope for when you open a Zin, but don’t often find. In the glass it’s a beautiful sparkling red, with a touch of licorice and vanilla on the nose.

The first taste lets you know this is different from most other Zins. There is a lot of spice and pepper, but plenty of fruit, without being overpowering. Everything is smoothed out; no rough edges. The finish is long and silky smooth.

The Lot 2 wines are blends of 2007 and 2008 vintages. The Zinfandel grapes come from Paso Robles and Lodi, two great areas for Zinfandel. The 2007 grapes are aged 12 months in American oak barrels and the 2008 vintage was barrel-aged for six months. Final blending occurred four months before bottling.

The Zin started out closed and not as tasty as I would have liked. But after I left the wine in the glass for about 30 minutes, it opened into a delightful wine.

The Merlot brought me back to the days of 25 years ago when Merlot was a great, robust red. As Merlot grew in popularity, the wine lost its zing. Too many Merlots these days are bland, wimpy and overly fruity.

The Candor Merlot packs a mean punch, hitting your taste buds with great fruit and strong tannins. Everything is in balance. The first whiff you get in the glass reminds you of a great Bordeaux with hints of black cherry and cassis. On the palate you get lots of blackberry, plum, smoke and vanilla. The wine has some backbone, standing up to food and finishing well, much like the Zin.

The Merlot comes from family vineyards in Santa Barbara County and Paso Robles. It is aged in French and American oak barrels. The 2007 is barrel-aged for 12 months and the 2008 spent six months in the barrel.

Winery: The Hope family has been growing grapes in Paso Robles since 1978. That’s where their winery is located today, although they source grapes from around the state. They bottle wines under four different labels: Treana, Liberty School, Austin Hope and Candor.

These two wines are the only ones made under the Candor label. The Zin comes from a combination of 60-year-old vines and new vines. By picking fruit from several vineyards in two regions and using two vintages, Hope Family is able to choose the best of the best and make their own blend. The result is superb.

“With Candor, I’m in a unique situation of not being constrained by one vintage or one vineyard,” said winemaker and president Austin Hope. “In chef-speak, I’ve expanded my spice rack with great quality fruit.”

Hope was named winemaker of the year by the San Luis Obispo Wine Industry last year, and his wines have won many awards.

Goes with: We had the Zin with a delicious vegetable soup and it paired very well. The good balance between fruit and acid makes this a Zin you can drink with many foods. I think it could hold up to spaghetti sauce, stews and most meats on the grill.

I used some of the Merlot to marinate a pot roast, a little departure from my usual Cabernet Sauvignon for cooking. It was a good choice because of the strength of the Merlot. It added great flavor to the pot roast and then matched well with the meat and vegetables. The smooth tannins make it a great complement to just about any red meat.