Paso Robles is super hot — producing some of the best and most interesting wines in California. The climate is supposedly similar to the Rhone Valley — and much of the area is dedicated to Rhone varietals. Linne Calodo is one of the wineries in the Paso Robles area that has been getting a lot of press.

The grenache is very prominent (in a good way). Good acidity with a long and clean finish. Cherry, rhubarb, berries, sweet and sour candy, white pepper, tobacco, some smoke and a little pine. Elegant with good balance. Lighter than expected. Good structure.

This wine is similar to a modern style Châteauneuf-du-Pape — and certainly represents the grenache, mourvedre and syrah components very well — the grenache is beautiful and the wine is provocative. This wine is very interesting in that it is somewhat restrained and elegant — not a fruit bomb by any means — but also shows great fruit and power — 15.3% alcohol (?!), you must be kidding…..

I also love their Contrarian — a roussane-viogner blend and also was very impressed with the 2005 Nemesis.

Their wines are not the easiest to find, but certainly worth seeking out.

Parker notes
94 points: “The 2005 Sticks and Stones, a blend of 62% Grenache, 14% Syrah, and the rest Mourvedre, has elegant black raspberry, sweet cherry, and blueberry notes intermixed with some pepper and spice. The wine shows a hint of earth and some distant smoky, herbal notes. It is broad, savory, and both full-bodied and elegant at the same time. This is a beauty to drink over the next 5-7 years.”

Vineyard notes

62% Grenache, 24% Mourvedre, 14% Syrah – Spring Release 2007. The 2005 Sticks and Stones represents our commitment to the production of Rhone style blends. A Grenache dominated wine. This wine starts with hand harvested fruit that is gently destemmed (whole berry) into 1.5 ton fermenters. Blended in April of 2006, the wine is comprised of 62% Grenache, 24% Mourvedre and 14% Syrah. The nose is bright and sweet, while the mouth is lush with copious amount of raspberry and currant fruits intermixed with tobacco. The finish is long, dusty and slightly mushroomed. The wine can be enjoyed now or over the next 3-6 years maybe longer.