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Today’s unique red blend is a delicious and ultra-interesting wine that stretches the boundaries of it’s component parts.

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Mission Codename: The Spy’s Lexicon – Redux

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Return to Maloy O’Neill Vineyards in Paso Robles, and secure an ample allocation of their stunning 2005 Lexicon, their best red blend

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Maloy O’Neill Vineyards

Wine Subject: 2005 Lexicon

Winemakers: Shannon O’Neill

Backgrounder: Our Operatives went loco for Shannon O’Neil’s fantastic 2004 Lexicon, so when we received intelligence reports that his 2005 was even better, we dispatched Agent Red to secure a healthy-sized allocation. Paso Robles has long been established as a wine producing region that give other California regions a run for their money. With a climate and soils that make for perfect growing conditions for grapes, it is no wonder. Winemakers in Paso are a somewhat unique breed, often declaring themselves to be the renegades of Cali wine. A meeting with Shannon O’Neill, winemaker and owner of Maloy O’Neill affirms this sentiment. A warm, excited and deeply passionate man, Shannon makes wines that reflect his personality. Join Agent Red as he visits Shannon, tastes his fantastic 2005 Lexicon, and returns with a cache of the wine for our Operatives.

Don’t think of this wine as a Cabernet Sauvignon/Pinot Noir blend. To do so would be to pigeonhole this divine blend, which is absolutely delicious and unique. Not one of the wines varietal components outshines another. Rather, they all work in harmonious balance and combine to deliver something altogether remarkable.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep ruby red with concentrated color straight out to the garnet edges. When swirled, the wine shows off a very tight surface that settles fast, leaving behind slow-starting clusters of tears that start chubby and then skinny-out as they march slowly down the glass

Smell – Richly layered, leading with cassis, black cherry, overripe blackberry, cocoa powder, brambley (is that a real word?) raspberry, dried dark flower petals – all with a softly fresh earthiness

Feel – Soft at very first, wet, then quickly grippy and mouth-coating as the wine reveals a medium body and fine-grained, firm tannins that gently tug at the cheeks and dry the mouth

Taste – Balanced bright and dark flavors, with delicious fruit of dark cherry, black plum, cassis, young strawberry, smoky blueberry and fine cocoa powder are all framed by soft spice and earthy dried herbs

Finish – Finishes bold and dark, at first, then bright fruit emerges. This transition effect makes the mouth water as flavors literally move around the mouth.

Conclusion – If I loved the 2004 Lexicon, I *_LOVE*_ the 2005! With the characteristic fruit and bold character that I have come to expect from Shannon O’Neill’s wines, today’s wine delivers an ethereal something extra. I really enjoyed this wine on it’s own and decided to pair it with homemade pizza with sausage and fresh basil – which worked beautifully! While this wine is concentrated and deep, it also has the bright acids to make it very food friendly. Grab a case before they run out of this very limited-production masterpiece.

Mission Report

Below follows an excerpt from Agent Red’s initial recon of Maloy O’Neill Vineyards.

Just a few days ago, I was fortunate to spend time with Shannon O’Neill, one of the founding father’s of the Paso wine scene.

Shannon purchased his first vineyard land back in 1980 and was one of the first dozen vintners planting in the appellation. Today, there are more than 120 Paso wineries and Shannon’s Maloy O’Neill is considered an original – and one of the finest.

The day I met Shannon, the weather was mercifully moderate. The last time I visited the region in the summertime, the weather soared to 106 degrees. That was a year ago, and I was loath to experience another sweltering day. Thank Bacchus for a cooler day.

Shannon told me that the weather this summer had been somewhat unusual, with temperatures bouncing all around. “It’s been an unusual summer to be sure,” Shannon told me. “Day to day, temps have been fluctuating far more than usual.”

When I asked Shannon to tell me how the grapes were doing with these temperature swings, he told me:

“The swings make me a little nervous, particularly when temps soar to 116 as we saw recently. When temps get that high, vines can shut down, putting the grapes in danger. Fortunately, our grapes are all doing great.”

“This is the time of year when we visit the vineyards several times a day to see when they start to get their color. When the first hints of purple appear on the grapes, we know that harvest is right around the corner. Right now, I am ordering all of my harvest supplies and getting my team ready to pick, sort and rush the grapes to the winery.”

As we walked through the vineyards, Shannon pointed out the wide assortment of his grapes. Here, he grows and tends to Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Chardonnay, Muscat Canelli, and Malvasia Bianca, these latter two being more obscure but very interesting grape varietals. We discussed the grapes, picking and tasting as we walked and talked.

I asked Shannon to characterize the differences between wines made in Paso Robles and those from Napa and Sonoma.

“Well, that’s a big question, but I’ll boil it down in simple terms: Because of the hotter temperatures, Paso wines tend to be more deeply extracted and big. The higher temps lead to higher sugars which, in turn, lead to higher alcohol. When making my wines, I strive to deliver big and bold flavors, but also wines that hold up when paired with food. Some of my wines are meant to solo imbibing to be sure, but the Lexicon that you are enjoying is a great food wine. Bright acidity and deep fruit don’t overpower and are perfect with lighter foods or even hearty entrees.”

My afternoon with the winemaker over, I headed back to Central Command, the trunk of my hybrid Spy SUV stuffed with Maloy O’Neill’s great wines. And those were just the wines for my cellar! You’ll have to get your own today, dear Operative, before we run out!

A hearty thank you to Shannon for the great tour!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Maloy O’Neil vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.