Producers serving food at the tasting room, ranked by Crux Score. Median Crux Score in this group is 86, against 85 for the appellation.
Seven wines, four decades, and no Cabernet vintage below 88 since 2017 — the $45 fee is the only thing here that is not refunded.
Ninety-nine points on 55% estate fruit: Highland Cellars buys brilliantly and charges $113 for the result.
Publishes every addition, charges nothing to taste, and still scores 94 — transparency of 98 from a house with everything to protect.
Walk in, pay fifteen dollars, and drink Mourvèdre from a house that scores 98 for both its room and its candour.
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.
Eighteen wines is too many; the ones that hold the 95 are the Mourvèdres, and 2024 is the vintage to buy.
Grenache Blanc grown entirely on the estate and poured without an appointment, which is two rarities in one Geneseo afternoon.
The Tempranillo is 95-point wine; at $108 with value at 74, it is the weakest bargain in Willow Creek.
Nineteen wines, a 97-point room, and a value score of 73: Wexler Crossing sells the visit as much as the bottle.
Publishes its full additions list and pours by appointment only; the Petite Sirah earns 91 and the $45 fee is not refunded.
| # | Producer & verdict | Crux | Avg | Value | Δ med 86 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =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 | +8 | |
| =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 | +8 | |
| =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 | +8 | |
| =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 | +8 | |
| =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 | +6 | |
| =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 | +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 | +5 | |
| =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 | +5 | |
| =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 | +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 | +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 | +3 | |
| =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 | +3 | |
| =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 | +3 | |
| =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 | +3 | |
| =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 | +3 | |
| =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 | +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 | +2 | |
| =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 | +2 | |
| =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 | +1 | |
| =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 | +1 | |
| =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 | +1 | |
| =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 | +1 | |
| =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 | +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 | ±0 | |
| =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 | ±0 | |
| =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 | ±0 | |
| =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 | ±0 | |
| =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 | ±0 | |
| =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 | ±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 | −1 | |
| =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 | −1 | |
| =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 | −1 | |
| =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 | −1 | |
| =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 | −1 | |
| =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 | −1 | |
| =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 | −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 | −2 | |
| =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 | −2 | |
| =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 | −2 | |
| =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 | −2 | |
| =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 | −2 | |
| =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 | −2 | |
| =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 | −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 | −3 | |
| =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 | −3 | |
| =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 | −3 | |
| =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 | −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 | −4 | |
| =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 | −4 | |
| =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 | −4 | |
| =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 | −5 | |
| =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 | −5 | |
| =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 | −5 | |
| =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 | −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 | −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 | −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 | −11 |
Cruxvine scores 57 of the 187 producers in the Paso Robles AVA that match: food served on site. The median Crux Score among them is 86 against 85 for Paso Robles as a whole. The highest are Bald Ranch (94), Highland Cellars (94), Kell Bench (94).