Brian Robertson – The First Annual Barrel Tasting Party at Propaganda Wine Co. happened last Saturday September 21st to great results with the introductions and sneak peeks to the future of their wines. Their new lineup of upcoming wines and the tasting consisted of eight wines with robust, fruitful, sweet, dry, and a wealth of flavors being tapped straight from the barrel. The first pour of the night we started off with was the 23’ Pinot Noir-Pommard Clones Petaluma Gap/Carneros, a light, airy, and medium body Burgundian red that is a great early autumn drink, coming this November. The second drink on the list, poured by Claire, was the 23’ Old Vine Zinfandel Lodi. Labeled as a medium body wine with a youthful way about it consisting of bramble fruit and was not very tannic. It was a very smooth but not overly sweet drink. The beautiful cool weather at CoLab in Vista where Propaganda is situated led to a great pairing with the new wines being introduced. As we moved down to the next pair of barrels we were introduced to the 23’ Alexander Valley Merlot which is a medium wine that sits heavy on the back of your pallet. There is definitely a dark oaky flavor to it that I happened to quite enjoy. Next up we were given the 23’ Lake County Tempranillo. The sign says it’s Spain in a barrel, and they weren’t wrong, with a bit of cabernet in it, a slight vanilla kick, and a nice spiciness to finish it off. It went well with the side crackers and accoutrements that Jo Deutsch, one of Propaganda’s proprietor’s, was carefully placing out for the oncoming wine tasters, when he’s not pouring the wine himself.
