2016 Halter Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Adelaida District Paso Robles 750 ml

There’s Never Been a Better Time for Cabernet

If you bring a Paso Robles Cabernet to a Napa party, it had better be good. The friend who brought three bottles of this 2016 Halter Ranch Cabernet to a party we were at last month took that risk—and the reason for his chutzpah soon became clear. The black fruit concentration was powerful and sumptuous, yet balanced by the kind of vibrant, just-picked freshness that only a master winemaker can achieve with this grape. Guests ventured guesses at how this incredible tension had been achieved. Our only question, as we pulled our friend aside, was how many cases we could get for Wine Access customers and at what price. At $40, this bottle vaults over plenty of $80 Napa Cabernets, showing why critics have embraced this region as a source of unstoppable values.

“There has never been a better time to be drinking Paso Robles wine,” declared Vinous last year. We couldn’t agree more.

We got an answer too on how Halter Ranch managed to pull off all that richness while retaining its irresistible freshness. If Rutherford has its dust, this part of Paso Robles has Adelaida rock—a soil distinct even from what you’d find in Templeton Gap or Santa Margarita. The limestone-rich calcareous shale, formed from centuries-old ocean deposits, are highly alkaline, allowing grapes to grow in concentration without becoming overripe. “Grapes that grow in this soil maintain acidity better,” winemaker Kevin Sass told us. “We can afford to wait until it’s perfectly ripe to pick.”

Sass came to Halter Ranch from Justin, where he blended Halter fruit into the cultishly popular $140 Reverse Isoceles cuvée, which Robert Parker called “one of the finest Bordeaux blends I have ever tasted from Paso Robles.” When he came to Halter Ranch in 2011, he replanted a quarter of the vines, including new clones of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, and 2016 was the first vintage where the yields were big enough to taste the fruits of that labor, and the difference in fruit purity and freshness is unmistakable.

This vivacious 2016 Halter Ranch Cab is packed with bright berry fruit balanced by firm tannins.  It’s led to a style of winemaking Vinous recognized as “structured and densely packed, with concentrated dark fruit and the balance and tannins to ensure a long, positive evolution in the cellar.” It’s a dazzling showing from a winery fast on the rise and proves Sass is blazing a trail as one of the hottest vintners in the region.

This release, perhaps the finest yet from Halter Ranch, won 93 points from Wine Enthusiast, calling it “a complete and cohesive wine that will satisfy many palates” framed by “polished tannins and fresh acidity.” If you’ve wondered whether in 2019 it’s still possible to find superlative California Cabernets for under-$50, here’s your answer.