How many wineries are in Paso Robles?
The Paso Robles AVA holds roughly 200 bonded producers across 11 sub-districts and about 40,000 planted acres inside a 614,000-acre appellation. Cruxvine has scored 187 of them.
California’s Rhône capital and its most misunderstood Cabernet region. Forty thousand planted acres across a 614,000-acre appellation — which is why “Paso” tells you almost nothing until you know which of the eleven districts you are standing in.
| # | Producer & verdict | Crux | Avg | Value | Δ med 85 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Marchetti & Braithe Santa Margarita Ranch · Mourvèdre · Santa Margarita The Mourvèdre the rest of Santa Margarita Ranch is quietly measuring itself against, let down only by an 81 for transparency. | 96 | $87 | 93 | +11 | |
| =1 | Verrone Vista Templeton Gap District · Petit Verdot · Templeton A hundred for the wine and a hundred for the room, across nineteen bottlings and fourteen thousand cases — scale has cost this place nothing. | 96 | $106 | 88 | +11 | |
| =1 | Whitcomb & Naveau Templeton Gap District · Merlot · Templeton A Merlot built for its second decade in bottle, with a tasting room scoring 100 for the people who will not wait that long. | 96 | $101 | 86 | +11 | |
| 4 | Kestrel & Quint Adelaida District · Petit Verdot · Paso Robles Consistency of 100 across ten vintages: eight wines, no misses, and a $105 ask that assumes you already knew. | 95 | $105 | 79 | +10 | |
| =5 | Bald Ranch Creston District · Cabernet Sauvignon · Creston Seven wines, four decades, and no Cabernet vintage below 88 since 2017 — the $45 fee is the only thing here that is not refunded. | 94 | $90 | 84 | +9 | |
| =5 | Highland Cellars Willow Creek District · Merlot · Paso Robles Ninety-nine points on 55% estate fruit: Highland Cellars buys brilliantly and charges $113 for the result. | 94 | $113 | 79 | +9 | |
| =5 | Kell Bench Santa Margarita Ranch · Petite Sirah · Santa Margarita Publishes every addition, charges nothing to taste, and still scores 94 — transparency of 98 from a house with everything to protect. | 94 | $81 | 83 | +9 | |
| =5 | Kiler Winery Templeton Gap District · Mourvèdre · Templeton Walk in, pay fifteen dollars, and drink Mourvèdre from a house that scores 98 for both its room and its candour. | 94 | $99 | 87 | +9 | |
| =9 | Alder Knoll Willow Creek District · Picpoul Blanc · Paso Robles Willow Creek Picpoul with a transparency score of 99, which in a white this serious is rarer than the wine. | 93 | $90 | 87 | +8 | |
| =9 | Amsel Hollow Adelaida District · Cabernet Sauvignon · Paso Robles The only transparency score of 100 in Paso Robles, on seventeen wines from fourteen hundred cases of Adelaida Cabernet. | 93 | $86 | 87 | +8 | |
| =9 | Huer Huero Winery Willow Creek District · Picpoul Blanc · Paso Robles Picpoul Blanc at 98 for quality and 76 for value: the wine is not the problem, the $108 is. | 93 | $108 | 76 | +8 | |
| =9 | Oyster Crossing Adelaida District · Merlot · Paso Robles Nine thousand cases and a quality score of 97: the wine has outgrown both the room and the pricing. | 93 | $94 | 80 | +8 | |
| =13 | Boye & Yarrow Adelaida District · Zinfandel · Paso Robles A hundred-point tasting room attached to fourteen hundred cases of estate Zinfandel; the hard part is getting the bottle, not the seat. | 92 | $102 | 80 | +7 | |
| =13 | Braithe Trail San Miguel District · Mourvèdre · San Miguel Ninety-nine for value at $40 a bottle, from eight hundred cases of San Miguel Mourvèdre — the price has not caught up with the wine. | 92 | $40 | 99 | +7 | |
| =13 | Naveau Furrow San Juan Creek · Viognier · Shandon Viognier from a hundred per cent estate fruit in San Juan Creek, and a 97-point room that charges $45 to prove it. | 92 | $76 | 89 | +7 | |
| =13 | Ridgemark & Nolby Templeton Gap District · Mourvèdre · Templeton Eighteen wines is too many; the ones that hold the 95 are the Mourvèdres, and 2024 is the vintage to buy. | 92 | $102 | 79 | +7 | |
| =13 | Summit Estate Adelaida District · Tempranillo · Paso Robles Adelaida Tempranillo from 96% estate fruit, seven wines deep, priced at $90 and worth the argument. | 92 | $90 | 87 | +7 | |
| =13 | Ziegler Bend Paso Robles Geneseo District · Chardonnay · Paso Robles The rare Chardonnay that is good and cheap at once: 92 across the board, $63, and nothing in the numbers below 86. | 92 | $63 | 92 | +7 | |
| =19 | Bellamy & Vashon Santa Margarita Ranch · Grenache · Santa Margarita A perfect value score at $62, from eight hundred cases — Bellamy & Vashon has never learned to charge what it could. | 91 | $62 | 100 | +6 | |
| =19 | Bramble Hill Templeton Gap District · Tempranillo · Templeton Fifty-four years in Templeton Gap on 55% estate fruit; the Tempranillo is consistent at 95 and the room has never been the point. | 91 | $85 | 88 | +6 | |
| =19 | Calf Gate San Miguel District · Petit Verdot · San Miguel Four wines, all estate, all San Miguel Petit Verdot, $61, and a value score of 100 that the 80-point room does not spoil. | 91 | $61 | 100 | +6 | |
| =19 | Dunmore Springs Paso Robles Geneseo District · Grenache Blanc · Paso Robles Grenache Blanc grown entirely on the estate and poured without an appointment, which is two rarities in one Geneseo afternoon. | 91 | $93 | 86 | +6 | |
| =19 | Fairbourne Rise Santa Margarita Ranch · Marsanne · Santa Margarita Marsanne at 98 for quality and 82 for the room: come for the bottle, not the hour. | 91 | $100 | 80 | +6 | |
| =19 | Huer Huero Hill Willow Creek District · Tempranillo · Paso Robles The Tempranillo is 95-point wine; at $108 with value at 74, it is the weakest bargain in Willow Creek. | 91 | $108 | 74 | +6 | |
| =19 | Paper Flat El Pomar District · Marsanne · Templeton Twelve wines from fourteen hundred cases, only 65% estate — Paper Flat is a blender, and a very good one. | 91 | $70 | 91 | +6 | |
| =19 | Prewitt Bench Santa Margarita Ranch · Merlot · Santa Margarita A 95-point room pouring 95-point Merlot, on 40% estate fruit that the house does not pretend otherwise about. | 91 | $88 | 79 | +6 | |
| =19 | Shell Fork El Pomar District · Mourvèdre · Templeton El Pomar Mourvèdre at $52 with a value score of 99, from a house founded in 2014 that already publishes its full additions list. | 91 | $52 | 99 | +6 | |
| =19 | Wexler Crossing Adelaida District · Tempranillo · Paso Robles Nineteen wines, a 97-point room, and a value score of 73: Wexler Crossing sells the visit as much as the bottle. | 91 | $108 | 73 | +6 | |
| =19 | Wexler Draw Adelaida District · Mourvèdre · Paso Robles All estate fruit, $75, and a perfect value score — the 81 for the tasting room is the price of that. | 91 | $75 | 100 | +6 | |
| =30 | Dry Creek Gate Willow Creek District · Petite Sirah · Paso Robles Fourteen thousand cases of Petite Sirah at $65 that hold 93 for quality — volume without visible compromise. | 90 | $65 | 89 | +5 | |
| =30 | Hemsley & Ulmer Adelaida District · Zinfandel · Paso Robles Eight hundred cases, 40% estate, $104: you are paying for scarcity and for somebody else's vineyard. | 90 | $104 | 81 | +5 | |
| =30 | Jarrow Ranch Adelaida District · Viognier · Paso Robles Adelaida Viognier at $109 with a value score of 77 — a serious white asking a red's price. | 90 | $109 | 77 | +5 | |
| =30 | Larkin & Wexler Paso Robles Highlands District · Zinfandel · Creston Seventeen wines, all estate, $60, and not one of the last ten vintages below 83. | 90 | $60 | 91 | +5 | |
| =30 | Steelhead Vineyards Santa Margarita Ranch · Petite Sirah · Santa Margarita Publishes its full additions list and pours by appointment only; the Petite Sirah earns 91 and the $45 fee is not refunded. | 90 | $98 | 76 | +5 | |
| =30 | Whitcomb Vista Santa Margarita Ranch · Zinfandel · Santa Margarita A value score of 98 at $41 — and 2024 is the best vintage Whitcomb Vista has made in a decade. | 90 | $41 | 98 | +5 | |
| =30 | Yost & Orsini El Pomar District · Merlot · Templeton El Pomar Merlot at $61 that walks in off the street: 90 points, full additions published, twenty dollars to sit down. | 90 | $61 | 87 | +5 | |
| =37 | Chalk Furrow El Pomar District · Marsanne · Templeton Fourteen wines, no sub-score above 91 and none below 86 — Chalk Furrow's whole argument is that it never misses. | 89 | $54 | 88 | +4 | |
| =37 | Cordell Fork Templeton Gap District · Zinfandel · Templeton A 95-point room in front of Zinfandel whose vintages run from 82 to 93 — the welcome is steadier than the wine. | 89 | $62 | 91 | +4 | |
| =37 | Dellamo Hollow Willow Creek District · Mourvèdre · Paso Robles A 93 for value on 40% estate fruit: Dellamo Hollow is buying well and passing some of it on. | 89 | $78 | 93 | +4 | |
| =37 | Draycott Trail Templeton Gap District · Merlot · Templeton Four wines, one of them the Merlot that earns the 93, and a $50 fee that Templeton Gap increasingly assumes you will pay. | 89 | $94 | 78 | +4 | |
| =37 | Fenwick Cellars San Juan Creek · Mourvèdre · Shandon Founded in 2016 and already at 89 across sixteen wines; the consistency score of 86 is what a young house looks like. | 89 | $88 | 83 | +4 | |
| =37 | Hemsley Trail Willow Creek District · Zinfandel · Paso Robles Pays Cruxvine $149 a month for a claimed listing and scores 89 anyway, which is what a claimed listing is worth. | 89 | $98 | 78 | +4 | |
| =37 | Highland Gate Paso Robles Geneseo District · Grenache · Paso Robles Twenty-eight dollars a bottle and a value score of 99: the cheapest way to drink Geneseo Grenache seriously. | 89 | $28 | 99 | +4 | |
| =37 | Huer Huero Rise Paso Robles Highlands District · Zinfandel · Creston Fourteen thousand cases from five wines, transparency at 96 — a large producer that behaves like a small one. | 89 | $64 | 86 | +4 | |
| =37 | Limestone Winery Adelaida District · Counoise · Paso Robles Counoise, free to taste, no appointment, 96% estate — the most generous door in Adelaida attached to a grape nobody markets. | 89 | $76 | 91 | +4 | |
| =37 | Mabry & Vantrease Paso Robles Highlands District · Merlot · Creston A value score of 96 at $72 across eighteen wines, and 2024 is the vintage that finally beat 2016. | 89 | $72 | 96 | +4 | |
| =37 | Pell & Hollis San Miguel District · Zinfandel · San Miguel Eight hundred cases split across eighteen wines is a lot of ambition; the Zinfandel is where it lands. | 89 | $83 | 83 | +4 | |
| =37 | Shell Vineyards Adelaida District · Roussanne · Paso Robles Nineteen Adelaida wines with a Roussanne at their centre, full additions published, and a value score of 78 that says so. | 89 | $104 | 78 | +4 | |
| =37 | Tarrant & Marchetti Templeton Gap District · Cabernet Sauvignon · Templeton A hundred per cent estate Cabernet at $90, and a tasting room at 81 that has not caught up with the vineyard. | 89 | $90 | 90 | +4 | |
| =37 | York Mesa Creston District · Petite Sirah · Creston Four wines, walk-in, $45 to sit down and 79 for transparency — York Mesa would rather pour than explain. | 89 | $64 | 84 | +4 | |
| =51 | Ashby Hill Templeton Gap District · Picpoul Blanc · Templeton A 96-point room and a value score of 70: Ashby Hill charges $108 for Picpoul grown 60% somewhere else. | 88 | $108 | 70 | +3 | |
| =51 | Barn Terrace El Pomar District · Zinfandel · Templeton Eighteen wines from eight hundred estate cases at $42, additions published in full — small, cheap, and unusually frank. | 88 | $42 | 92 | +3 | |
| =51 | Dellamo & Fenwick San Juan Creek · Counoise · Shandon All estate, all published, named tastings only: a 1979 house that behaves like it has nothing to hide, because it does not. | 88 | $83 | 90 | +3 | |
| =51 | Ellery Field Templeton Gap District · Cabernet Sauvignon · Templeton The Cabernet earns 92 and the tasting room earns 78 — buy the bottle somewhere else and drink it at home. | 88 | $80 | 85 | +3 | |
| =51 | Stapleton Ridge Willow Creek District · Counoise · Paso Robles Eighteen wines is a lot of Counoise to get through in a room scoring 79; the wine itself is the reason to try. | 88 | $83 | 84 | +3 | |
| =51 | Tar Estate San Miguel District · Grenache · San Miguel Nine thousand estate cases of San Miguel Grenache at $42, value at 97 — the appellation's quietest bargain at scale. | 88 | $42 | 97 | +3 | |
| =57 | Amsel & Thorne Santa Margarita Ranch · Counoise · Santa Margarita Ninety-three for the wine, 78 for the room: Amsel & Thorne is a bottle shop that happens to have chairs. | 87 | $70 | 80 | +2 | |
| =57 | Bald Row El Pomar District · Grenache · Templeton A 95-point room in front of a Grenache that scores 87, from a house that has been at it since 1977. | 87 | $70 | 85 | +2 | |
| =57 | Boye Cellars Creston District · Mourvèdre · Creston Fourteen thousand estate cases, no appointment needed, and vintages that swing from 79 to 91 — buy by the year, not the label. | 87 | $78 | 83 | +2 | |
| =57 | Calder Draw Creston District · Merlot · Creston Declines to disclose its additions and owns no vineyard, which is 70 for transparency and an honest zero for estate fruit. | 87 | $64 | 88 | +2 | |
| =57 | Foxglen Mesa Willow Creek District · Merlot · Paso Robles Publishes everything it adds and grows 55% of what it presses — Foxglen Mesa is a Willow Creek négociant that tells you so. | 87 | $75 | 80 | +2 | |
| =57 | Gorse Bluff El Pomar District · Counoise · Templeton A $50 fee, no refund, and a 77-point room attached to Counoise that scores 90; the numbers do not flatter the visit. | 87 | $78 | 82 | +2 | |
| =57 | Hallow Estate Santa Margarita Ranch · Merlot · Santa Margarita Fourteen thousand cases founded in 2012 that already hold 90 for consistency; the Merlot is the one to order. | 87 | $68 | 90 | +2 | |
| =57 | Ivers Mesa El Pomar District · Tempranillo · Templeton Declines to disclose additions, owns no vineyard, charges $45 that it does not refund: 79 for transparency is generous. | 87 | $78 | 84 | +2 | |
| =57 | Jessup Ranch Adelaida District · Mourvèdre · Paso Robles Publishes its full additions list on a hundred per cent estate fruit at $61 — the numbers here all point the same way. | 87 | $61 | 80 | +2 | |
| =57 | Kell Wash Paso Robles Highlands District · Grenache Blanc · Creston Grenache Blanc at $44 with value at 97, walk-in, in a district most visitors never reach. | 87 | $44 | 97 | +2 | |
| =57 | Limestone Bend Adelaida District · Albariño · Paso Robles Albariño out of Adelaida limestone, eight hundred cases, fourteen wines — ambitious, and stretched thin because of it. | 87 | $87 | 79 | +2 | |
| =57 | Linne Field Willow Creek District · Tempranillo · Paso Robles A 94-point room, a $50 fee and a Tempranillo that scores 86: Linne Field sells the afternoon. | 87 | $92 | 75 | +2 | |
| =57 | Merriam & Whitcomb San Miguel District · Petite Sirah · San Miguel Seventeen wines from all-estate San Miguel fruit at $87, value at 72 — the vineyard is better than the pricing. | 87 | $87 | 72 | +2 | |
| =57 | Nolby Estate San Juan Creek · Roussanne · Shandon Roussanne at 92 for quality from a house that declines to say what it adds; you can taste it, you cannot check it. | 87 | $81 | 82 | +2 | |
| =57 | Orsini & Oakhurst San Miguel District · Cabernet Sauvignon · San Miguel Eight hundred cases, $67, appointment only — Orsini & Oakhurst is a mailing list with a tasting room attached. | 87 | $67 | 88 | +2 | |
| =57 | Rhodes & Corliss Willow Creek District · Grenache · Paso Robles Publishes its full additions list and pours without appointment; the Grenache is 91-point wine at a 75-point price. | 87 | $91 | 75 | +2 | |
| =57 | Rocky Grade Santa Margarita Ranch · Picpoul Blanc · Santa Margarita Six wines, eight hundred cases, free to taste, no appointment — the least friction in Santa Margarita Ranch. | 87 | $72 | 85 | +2 | |
| =57 | Stapleton Wash Willow Creek District · Grenache · Paso Robles All estate Willow Creek Grenache at $95 with value at 75 — the vineyard is paying for itself and you are not. | 87 | $95 | 75 | +2 | |
| =57 | Vineyard Grade Creston District · Albariño · Creston Thirty-five dollars for Creston Albariño with a value score of 99 — the cheapest Albariño Cruxvine scores, by half. | 87 | $35 | 99 | +2 | |
| =76 | Bald Bend Paso Robles Estrella District · Mourvèdre · Paso Robles Forty-one dollars, value at 98, 96% estate — Bald Bend has been underpricing Estrella Mourvèdre since 1998. | 86 | $41 | 98 | +1 | |
| =76 | Boye Grove Paso Robles Geneseo District · Syrah · Paso Robles Pays for a claimed listing, owns no vineyard, and will not say what it adds — the 86 is the Syrah's doing, not the paperwork's. | 86 | $69 | 82 | +1 | |
| =76 | Cañada Springs Creston District · Mourvèdre · Creston A $45 fee and a value score of 71 on Creston Mourvèdre grown 65% on the estate; the room is better than the maths. | 86 | $86 | 71 | +1 | |
| =76 | Cold Spring Row San Juan Creek · Tempranillo · Shandon Fourteen thousand cases, six wines, full additions published, walk in without an appointment — scale done plainly. | 86 | $73 | 86 | +1 | |
| =76 | Fairbourne Bend Adelaida District · Merlot · Paso Robles Adelaida's oldest house, founded 1972, asking $101 for Merlot that scores 89 — value at 70 says the seniority is priced in. | 86 | $101 | 70 | +1 | |
| =76 | Jack Hollow San Miguel District · Cabernet Sauvignon · San Miguel Fifty-six dollars, value at 96, and not one word about what goes in the tank. | 86 | $56 | 96 | +1 | |
| =76 | Kenmar Winery El Pomar District · Mourvèdre · Templeton Fourteen thousand cases founded in 2014, 92% estate, and a Mourvèdre that has not dipped below 80 in a decade. | 86 | $76 | 84 | +1 | |
| =76 | Kiler Draw El Pomar District · Cabernet Sauvignon · Templeton Cabernet at $54 with a value score of 93, from a house that owns no vines and does not pretend to. | 86 | $54 | 93 | +1 | |
| =76 | Ostrom Rise San Juan Creek · Syrah · Shandon All estate, fifteen wines, eight hundred cases, additions published in full — San Juan Creek's most transparent small producer. | 86 | $61 | 90 | +1 | |
| =76 | Oyster Furrow Willow Creek District · Grenache · Paso Robles Transparency at 95 and consistency at 80: Oyster Furrow tells you everything, including that the vintages vary. | 86 | $73 | 92 | +1 | |
| =76 | Salinas Rise Adelaida District · Tempranillo · Paso Robles Fifty-two years old, $61, $15 to taste and additions published — Salinas Rise has never made the visit expensive. | 86 | $61 | 89 | +1 | |
| =76 | Thorne Bench Willow Creek District · Grenache · Paso Robles Seven wines, 89 for consistency, and a Grenache priced at $85 that the 75 for value quietly disputes. | 86 | $85 | 75 | +1 | |
| =88 | Amsel Gate Creston District · Grenache · Creston Named tastings, 92% estate, and a room at 77 — Amsel Gate is better in the glass than across the counter. | 85 | $72 | 80 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Garvey Hollow Willow Creek District · Grenache · Paso Robles Four wines and a 90-point room from a house that grows only 55% of its own fruit; the hospitality is the product. | 85 | $76 | 79 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Hemsley Grade Adelaida District · Counoise · Paso Robles Seventeen wines, no vineyard, no additions list — Hemsley Grade is a brand before it is a farm. | 85 | $65 | 84 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Jarrow Grove Adelaida District · Cabernet Sauvignon · Paso Robles Eighteen wines from eight hundred cases at $47, walk-in, full additions published; consistency at 77 is the cost of that range. | 85 | $47 | 91 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Lindqvist & Merriam Adelaida District · Grenache · Paso Robles Ninety-one for the wine, nothing disclosed, no estate fruit and $50 to taste: Adelaida Grenache on trust alone. | 85 | $89 | 76 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Mabry Knoll Santa Margarita Ranch · Counoise · Santa Margarita Seventeen Counoise-led wines from 96% estate fruit, half a century in, and a value score of 77 that reflects the ambition. | 85 | $71 | 77 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Marchetti Knoll San Miguel District · Chardonnay · San Miguel Free to taste, all estate, eighteen wines out of eight hundred cases — a 1974 house still behaving like a garage. | 85 | $51 | 81 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Merriam & Wexler El Pomar District · Petite Sirah · Templeton Fourteen thousand cases with the additions published in full; transparency at 93 is unusual at that volume. | 85 | $66 | 83 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Nolby & Larkin Santa Margarita Ranch · Grenache · Santa Margarita Nineteen wines, no vineyard, no disclosure, $53 — value at 90 is doing a lot of work here. | 85 | $53 | 90 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Oakhurst Bend Adelaida District · Counoise · Paso Robles Four wines, free to taste, and a Counoise that has not moved much since 2004 — for better and for worse. | 85 | $66 | 80 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Rhodes Trail Paso Robles Geneseo District · Picpoul Blanc · Paso Robles Consistency at 91 from a house that owns no fruit and lists no additions: bought well, explained badly. | 85 | $78 | 81 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Rocky Wash San Juan Creek · Counoise · Shandon Forty-six dollars, free to taste, value at 91 — Rocky Wash asks very little of you and returns more than that. | 85 | $46 | 91 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Stapleton Knoll Templeton Gap District · Syrah · Templeton Nine thousand cases of Templeton Gap Syrah at $53 that never quite excel and never disappoint. | 85 | $53 | 82 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Thorne & Rhodes San Miguel District · Petite Sirah · San Miguel A 90-point room, walk-in, fifteen dollars, and a Petite Sirah at 86 — the visit outperforms the bottle. | 85 | $87 | 77 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Vashon Grove Paso Robles Highlands District · Cabernet Sauvignon · Creston Five wines from 96% estate Highlands fruit at $74, with value at 74 — priced for the district, not for the score. | 85 | $74 | 74 | ±0 | |
| =88 | Yost & Halloran Paso Robles Estrella District · Merlot · Paso Robles The 2024 is the best wine Yost & Halloran has made, which makes the $50 fee easier to justify than it was. | 85 | $83 | 72 | ±0 | |
| =104 | Boye Bluff Paso Robles Highlands District · Merlot · Creston Eight hundred cases, five wines, $91, and a room at 75 — a wine club with a tasting bar. | 84 | $91 | 77 | −1 | |
| =104 | Chalk Gate San Miguel District · Grenache · San Miguel Fifty dollars to taste a $51 bottle, in a room scoring 75; Chalk Gate has the ratio backwards. | 84 | $51 | 83 | −1 | |
| =104 | Cripple Trail Paso Robles Estrella District · Cabernet Sauvignon · Paso Robles Four Estrella wines from 1979, priced at $79, in a room that scores 75 — the wine has aged better than the welcome. | 84 | $79 | 83 | −1 | |
| =104 | Dellamo Vista El Pomar District · Cabernet Sauvignon · Templeton Four wines, eight hundred cases, no vineyard and no additions list; the 87-point room is what you are actually buying. | 84 | $63 | 83 | −1 | |
| =104 | Highland Grade San Juan Creek · Zinfandel · Shandon Thirty-five dollars, free to taste, value at 91, and 2024 ties its best vintage on record — the discovery of the lower half. | 84 | $35 | 91 | −1 | |
| =104 | Huer Huero Gate Creston District · Tempranillo · Creston Nineteen wines out of twenty-two hundred cases is a range problem, not a quality one; the Tempranillo holds it together. | 84 | $73 | 76 | −1 | |
| =104 | Jack Furrow El Pomar District · Syrah · Templeton Thirty-nine dollars, walk-in, value at 96, and nothing published about what is in it. | 84 | $39 | 96 | −1 | |
| =104 | Larkin Vista San Juan Creek · Picpoul Blanc · Shandon Thirty-eight dollars, free to taste, value at 97 — and a consistency score of 79 that says pick your vintage. | 84 | $38 | 97 | −1 | |
| =104 | Lockwood Row San Juan Creek · Roussanne · Shandon Six wines from eight hundred cases, walk-in, $35 to taste: a small Roussanne house with a modest, workable idea. | 84 | $73 | 76 | −1 | |
| =104 | Marrow Cellars Adelaida District · Zinfandel · Paso Robles Fifty-one years old, eight hundred cases, thirteen wines and a room at 89; the Zinfandel is the least interesting thing here. | 84 | $83 | 72 | −1 | |
| =104 | Prewitt & Halloran San Miguel District · Zinfandel · San Miguel Ninety-six per cent estate Zinfandel across eighteen wines, and a $50 fee that value at 75 does not support. | 84 | $83 | 75 | −1 | |
| =104 | Ridgemark Bend San Juan Creek · Grenache · Shandon Sixteen wines from eight hundred cases, nothing owned and nothing disclosed — Ridgemark Bend is assembled, not grown. | 84 | $85 | 78 | −1 | |
| =104 | Steelhead Bench Adelaida District · Cabernet Sauvignon · Paso Robles A paying customer with a transparency score of 69, no estate fruit and no additions list — the score is 84 and the billing changed none of it. | 84 | $57 | 88 | −1 | |
| =104 | York Knoll Paso Robles Estrella District · Petite Sirah · Paso Robles All estate Estrella Petite Sirah with a 91-point room, and 2024 is the best vintage York Knoll has bottled. | 84 | $74 | 77 | −1 | |
| =118 | Corliss Hill Creston District · Picpoul Blanc · Creston Fourteen thousand cases from a house that owns nothing and says nothing; the room scores 72 and the Picpoul carries it. | 83 | $69 | 85 | −2 | |
| =118 | Corliss Wash El Pomar District · Syrah · Templeton All estate El Pomar Syrah at $61 — consistency at 77 is the price of a young vineyard, not a careless one. | 83 | $61 | 86 | −2 | |
| =118 | Cripple Cellars Adelaida District · Petite Sirah · Paso Robles A hundred and four dollars, value at 64, transparency at 68 and no estate fruit: the worst ratio in Adelaida. | 83 | $104 | 64 | −2 | |
| =118 | Cripple Row Paso Robles Geneseo District · Merlot · Paso Robles Seventeen wines at $47 from 40% estate fruit, walk-in — Cripple Row sells breadth cheaply and makes no claim beyond that. | 83 | $47 | 86 | −2 | |
| =118 | Kestrel & Amsel Willow Creek District · Grenache · Paso Robles Quality of 80 and value of 89 at $51: you are buying the price, and Kestrel & Amsel is fine with that. | 83 | $51 | 89 | −2 | |
| =118 | Lindqvist & Quint Templeton Gap District · Petite Sirah · Templeton Consistency of 90 on four wines nobody grew, at $106, with value at 66 — reliably expensive. | 83 | $106 | 66 | −2 | |
| =118 | Mabry & Thorne Creston District · Grenache · Creston Four wines, $44, walk-in, and thirty-eight years of Creston Grenache that has never tried to be more than pleasant. | 83 | $44 | 88 | −2 | |
| =118 | Naveau & Corliss Adelaida District · Counoise · Paso Robles A $50 fee for Counoise from a house with no vineyard and no additions list; value at 91 is the only defence offered. | 83 | $55 | 91 | −2 | |
| =118 | Nolby & Ostrom Santa Margarita Ranch · Counoise · Santa Margarita Thirty-five dollars, a 90-point room and nine thousand cases — Nolby & Ostrom is the volume play done charmingly. | 83 | $35 | 90 | −2 | |
| =118 | Norwood Flat Santa Margarita Ranch · Syrah · Santa Margarita Eighteen wines out of eight hundred cases at $87, with value at 72 — ambition running well ahead of the arithmetic. | 83 | $87 | 72 | −2 | |
| =118 | Old Creek Wash Creston District · Merlot · Creston Publishes its full additions list at $46 with value at 89: quality of 80 is the honest ceiling, and nobody here pretends otherwise. | 83 | $46 | 89 | −2 | |
| =118 | Orrick Hollow Creston District · Cabernet Sauvignon · Creston Nine thousand cases of $47 Cabernet with value at 92 — the best cheap red in Creston, from a house that owns no vines. | 83 | $47 | 92 | −2 | |
| =118 | Pennock Cellars San Juan Creek · Merlot · Shandon Fourteen thousand cases, seven wines, fifteen dollars, walk in — competent San Juan Creek Merlot and no story attached. | 83 | $71 | 79 | −2 | |
| =118 | Quarry Gate San Miguel District · Grenache · San Miguel Four wines from fourteen hundred cases in a 91-point room, with nothing disclosed about any of them. | 83 | $78 | 72 | −2 | |
| =118 | Salinas Grove Paso Robles Highlands District · Syrah · Creston Forty-nine years in the Highlands, still no additions list and no estate fruit — the Syrah is better than the housekeeping. | 83 | $54 | 92 | −2 | |
| =118 | Salinas Terrace San Juan Creek · Cabernet Sauvignon · Shandon Named tastings, full additions published, 80% estate — Salinas Terrace's paperwork is better than its Cabernet. | 83 | $60 | 83 | −2 | |
| =118 | Tarrant & Bellamy Creston District · Tempranillo · Creston Sixteen wines, walk-in, $20 to taste, and a transparency score of 69 that the friendliness does not offset. | 83 | $64 | 82 | −2 | |
| =118 | Vantrease & Ashby Paso Robles Highlands District · Petit Verdot · Creston A tasting room scoring 69 in front of $35 Petit Verdot with value at 97: buy the wine, skip the appointment. | 83 | $35 | 97 | −2 | |
| =118 | Yarrow & Rennick Paso Robles Estrella District · Cabernet Sauvignon · Paso Robles Fourteen wines from 92% estate Estrella fruit and a $50 fee that is not refunded — the wine is 86 and the welcome is 79. | 83 | $66 | 82 | −2 | |
| =137 | Bellamy Winery Santa Margarita Ranch · Petite Sirah · Santa Margarita A 91-point room, four wines, nothing owned and nothing disclosed — founded in 2015 and already selling the experience. | 82 | $57 | 77 | −3 | |
| =137 | Corliss Draw San Miguel District · Syrah · San Miguel Publishes its full additions list and scores 70 for the room; 2024 is the best Syrah Corliss Draw has made. | 82 | $54 | 80 | −3 | |
| =137 | Mabry Mesa Creston District · Grenache · Creston Ninety-five dollars for Creston Grenache with value at 68, no vineyard and no additions list — priced on confidence alone. | 82 | $95 | 68 | −3 | |
| =137 | Marchetti & Fenwick Paso Robles Estrella District · Tempranillo · Paso Robles Ninety-six per cent estate Estrella Tempranillo, and 2024 is the vintage that finally justified the $77. | 82 | $77 | 76 | −3 | |
| =137 | Naveau Estate Paso Robles Highlands District · Counoise · Creston Six wines from 96% estate Highlands fruit at $78, walk-in, with value at 69 — the vineyard deserves better pricing. | 82 | $78 | 69 | −3 | |
| =137 | Rushmore Rise Paso Robles Highlands District · Tempranillo · Creston Sixteen wines at $58, walk-in, 80% estate: Rushmore Rise is a Highlands workhorse and does not claim otherwise. | 82 | $58 | 75 | −3 | |
| =137 | Sable Bluff Santa Margarita Ranch · Roussanne · Santa Margarita Eighteen wines out of nine thousand cases at $83, value at 73 — a broad range with a narrow reason to buy. | 82 | $83 | 73 | −3 | |
| =137 | Thistle Fork San Juan Creek · Grenache · Shandon A $50 fee from a house founded in 2015 with ten wines and 74% estate fruit; the Grenache is worth $64, the fee is not. | 82 | $64 | 77 | −3 | |
| =137 | Varney Bend Paso Robles Estrella District · Picpoul Blanc · Paso Robles Six wines, eight hundred cases, all estate, since 1976 — Varney Bend has never grown and does not need to. | 82 | $55 | 80 | −3 | |
| =137 | York Flat Paso Robles Geneseo District · Grenache · Paso Robles Consistency at 87 from nine thousand cases nobody here grew; York Flat is a reliable blend and an opaque one. | 82 | $63 | 84 | −3 | |
| =147 | Cold Spring Grove Paso Robles Highlands District · Tempranillo · Creston A $50 fee, fourteen wines, no vineyard, no disclosure — Cold Spring Grove charges like a house with more to show. | 81 | $48 | 83 | −4 | |
| =147 | Fenwick & Sable Santa Margarita Ranch · Merlot · Santa Margarita Six wines from fourteen hundred cases, named pours, fifteen dollars — small, cheap, and entirely undocumented. | 81 | $63 | 75 | −4 | |
| =147 | Halloran Hill Paso Robles Estrella District · Picpoul Blanc · Paso Robles A 91-point room, free to taste, eighteen wines, and a transparency score of 68: the welcome is the whole offer. | 81 | $77 | 71 | −4 | |
| =147 | Highland Furrow Paso Robles Geneseo District · Zinfandel · Paso Robles An 89-point room in front of $83 Zinfandel with value at 69 — Highland Furrow is priced for a wine it does not make. | 81 | $83 | 69 | −4 | |
| =147 | Hollis & Hemsley San Miguel District · Marsanne · San Miguel Twenty-seven dollars a bottle with value at 93: the whole case for San Miguel Marsanne, made cheaply. | 81 | $27 | 93 | −4 | |
| =147 | Huer Huero Vineyards San Juan Creek · Marsanne · Shandon Twenty-three dollars, free to taste, value at 95 — the cheapest white in the appellation, and not a compromise. | 81 | $23 | 95 | −4 | |
| =147 | Jack Gate Santa Margarita Ranch · Syrah · Santa Margarita Publishes its full additions list on 92% estate fruit at $53; quality of 79 is the honest number and it is printed. | 81 | $53 | 84 | −4 | |
| =147 | Lindqvist Furrow El Pomar District · Zinfandel · Templeton Fourteen thousand cases, four wines, 92% estate, walk-in — Lindqvist Furrow does one thing at scale and does it evenly. | 81 | $61 | 74 | −4 | |
| =147 | Marchetti Furrow Creston District · Petit Verdot · Creston Nineteen wines from eight hundred cases since 1972, at $43 with value at 91 — a half-century of doing too much, cheaply. | 81 | $43 | 91 | −4 | |
| =147 | Tarrant & Kell Templeton Gap District · Syrah · Templeton A hundred per cent estate Syrah at $83, seventeen wines deep, with value at 71 — the estate is real, the price is ambitious. | 81 | $83 | 71 | −4 | |
| =147 | Tarrant Knoll Creston District · Grenache · Creston Eighteen wines from eight hundred cases, free to taste, walk in — Tarrant Knoll would rather you tried everything than bought much. | 81 | $65 | 78 | −4 | |
| =147 | Weald Fork San Juan Creek · Grenache · Shandon Free tasting, 92% estate, fourteen thousand cases: Weald Fork's generosity is the most consistent thing about it. | 81 | $62 | 74 | −4 | |
| =159 | Calder Gate Templeton Gap District · Petite Sirah · Templeton Eleven wines with no sub-score above 82: Calder Gate is the definition of the middle of this list. | 80 | $71 | 76 | −5 | |
| =159 | Cañada Reach San Miguel District · Petite Sirah · San Miguel Thirty-one dollars with value at 92 and transparency at 64 — cheap, improving, and unwilling to say why. | 80 | $31 | 92 | −5 | |
| =159 | Dover Wash Santa Margarita Ranch · Grenache · Santa Margarita Four wines, $43, value at 88, an 88-point room and no disclosure at all — a good afternoon on trust. | 80 | $43 | 88 | −5 | |
| =159 | Hollis Bend Paso Robles Geneseo District · Zinfandel · Paso Robles The 2024 is the best wine Hollis Bend has made in thirty-one years, which is worth knowing before you order the flight. | 80 | $54 | 78 | −5 | |
| =159 | Rocky Ranch Paso Robles Geneseo District · Petite Sirah · Paso Robles Twenty-three dollars a bottle and a $50 tasting fee: Rocky Ranch charges more to try it than to take it home. | 80 | $23 | 97 | −5 | |
| =159 | Summit Ridge San Miguel District · Grenache · San Miguel Thirty-seven dollars from 88% estate fruit, nine thousand cases, founded 2013 — Summit Ridge is growing into its own vineyard. | 80 | $37 | 86 | −5 | |
| =159 | Whitcomb & Kell Paso Robles Estrella District · Mourvèdre · Paso Robles Eight hundred cases at $38 with value at 88, a $45 unrefunded fee, and nothing published about the wine. | 80 | $38 | 88 | −5 | |
| =159 | Zephyr Bench Paso Robles Highlands District · Roussanne · Creston Twelve wines, named pours, 80% estate, $15 to taste — modest at every point, including the Roussanne. | 80 | $69 | 71 | −5 | |
| =167 | Fenwick Row Paso Robles Estrella District · Grenache Blanc · Paso Robles Fifty-four years old, free to taste, and a transparency score of 64 — Fenwick Row's Grenache Blanc arrives with no paperwork. | 79 | $44 | 80 | −6 | |
| =167 | Huer Huero Hollow Paso Robles Highlands District · Tempranillo · Creston Thirty-eight dollars and consistency at 74: fourteen wines that vary more than the price suggests they should. | 79 | $38 | 85 | −6 | |
| =167 | Jack Terrace San Juan Creek · Zinfandel · Shandon Nine thousand cases of $51 Zinfandel that scores 77 for quality — the value is real and so is the ceiling. | 79 | $51 | 85 | −6 | |
| =167 | Lindqvist Crossing San Juan Creek · Cabernet Sauvignon · Shandon Four wines, fourteen thousand cases, a 66-point room and a $50 fee — the fee buys you very little here. | 79 | $47 | 87 | −6 | |
| =167 | Summit Row El Pomar District · Viognier · Templeton Fourteen wines from eight hundred cases, and no vintage above 82 across the ten on record. | 79 | $67 | 76 | −6 | |
| =167 | Verrone & Orsini Paso Robles Highlands District · Tempranillo · Creston All estate Highlands Tempranillo at $80 with a 71-point room — everything is invested in the vineyard and none of it in the door. | 79 | $80 | 76 | −6 | |
| =173 | Calf Bench San Juan Creek · Zinfandel · Shandon Ten wines, 88% estate, walk-in, $45 — Calf Bench is unremarkable in every direction and priced as though it were not. | 78 | $54 | 76 | −7 | |
| =173 | Orsini Furrow San Miguel District · Albariño · San Miguel Eighteen wines from eight hundred cases, free to taste, walk in: an Albariño house spread across far too many labels. | 78 | $70 | 74 | −7 | |
| =173 | Paper Draw Paso Robles Highlands District · Syrah · Creston Ninety dollars with value at 64, on 96% estate Highlands Syrah — the vineyard is excellent and the pricing is not. | 78 | $90 | 64 | −7 | |
| =176 | Barn Bench Paso Robles Highlands District · Merlot · Creston Five wines, eight hundred cases, transparency at 62 — the least documented producer in the appellation. | 77 | $50 | 83 | −8 | |
| =176 | Barn Row Paso Robles Estrella District · Counoise · Paso Robles Fourteen thousand cases of Estrella Counoise at $70 with a 70-point room; the scale has outrun the reason for it. | 77 | $70 | 72 | −8 | |
| =176 | Linne Crossing Paso Robles Highlands District · Roussanne · Creston Nineteen wines from eight hundred cases at $49, walk-in, 96% estate — enormous range, small vineyard, modest wine. | 77 | $49 | 82 | −8 | |
| =179 | Fenwick & Fairbourne Creston District · Counoise · Creston Thirteen wines, a 68-point room, nothing disclosed, $40 — Fenwick & Fairbourne is the bottom of Creston and knows it. | 76 | $40 | 82 | −9 | |
| =179 | Kell Grove Adelaida District · Viognier · Paso Robles Fourteen thousand cases of Viognier from a 65-point room; 2024 is the best vintage, which is not saying a great deal. | 76 | $50 | 77 | −9 | |
| =179 | Mabry Flat San Juan Creek · Chardonnay · Shandon Thirty-five dollars, free to taste, five wines — Mabry Flat's Chardonnay is inoffensive and priced to stay that way. | 76 | $35 | 80 | −9 | |
| =179 | Peachy Hollow San Juan Creek · Zinfandel · Shandon Fourteen thousand cases and a $50 fee for wine that scores 76: the most expensive way to be disappointed in San Juan Creek. | 76 | $60 | 75 | −9 | |
| =183 | Bellhaven Winery Paso Robles Highlands District · Mourvèdre · Creston Eighteen dollars a bottle — the cheapest wine Cruxvine scores, with value at 87 and quality at 74, which is exactly what $18 buys. | 75 | $18 | 87 | −10 | |
| =183 | Chalk Field Paso Robles Estrella District · Zinfandel · Paso Robles Seventeen wines from a hundred per cent estate fruit, founded 2015, quality at 74 — the vineyard is young and it shows. | 75 | $36 | 79 | −10 | |
| =183 | Nolby Trail Paso Robles Estrella District · Cabernet Sauvignon · Paso Robles Seven wines, eight hundred cases, free to taste, walk in, and a 67-point room: cheap in every sense. | 75 | $41 | 78 | −10 | |
| =183 | Orsini Vineyards Paso Robles Highlands District · Mourvèdre · Creston Seventeen wines out of twenty-two hundred cases from a house founded in 2015 — too many labels, too little wine behind them. | 75 | $40 | 76 | −10 | |
| =183 | Oyster Grade El Pomar District · Marsanne · Templeton Quality at 73 and consistency at 72: Oyster Grade's Marsanne has not had a good year since 2019. | 75 | $42 | 79 | −10 |
2020 carries smoke exposure from the August complex fires. Many producers declassified; some did not.
Each year is the median of all 187 producers’ own scores for it. Open the full record, or any single vintage: 2015 · 2016 · 2017 · 2018 · 2019 · 2020 · 2021 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024.
The Paso Robles AVA holds roughly 200 bonded producers across 11 sub-districts and about 40,000 planted acres inside a 614,000-acre appellation. Cruxvine has scored 187 of them.
They are: Adelaida District, Creston District, El Pomar District, Paso Robles Estrella District, Paso Robles Geneseo District, Paso Robles Highlands District, San Juan Creek, San Miguel District, Santa Margarita Ranch, Templeton Gap District, Willow Creek District. Cruxvine scores each separately because the appellation spans 614,000 acres and the west side and the east side are different places.
The Templeton Gap District, at a median Crux Score of 89 across 14 producers, against 85 for the appellation as a whole.