96pts Jeb Dunnuck

The 2019 Ingenuity checks in as 71% Petite Sirah, 14% Mourvèdre, 12% Grenache, and a splash of Syrah. It's another beautiful, elegant, yet powerful wine from Fiorentini offering tons of ripe black fruits, notes of ground pepper, chocolate, and graphite, medium to full body, beautiful balance, and a great finish. It has plenty of up-front appeal, yet there's a focused, firmed edge here that makes me suspect it will be even better with just a year or so in bottle.

96pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2019 Ingenuity is a supple, fragrant blend of 71% Petite Sirah, 14% Mourvèdre, 12% Grenache and 3% Syrah. It takes plenty of time to unwind its aromas of candied blueberries and blackberry jam, plus touches of violet, iron and charcuterie. The full-bodied palate has abundant, powdery tannins, a core of perfumed fruit and just enough refreshing acidity. Let it unwind for another year or two in bottle and drink it over the next 5-7+ years for all that glorious perfume. 855 cases were made.

93pts James Suckling

A rich and generous mix of black and blue fruit with notes of black olives, bark, cocoa and wet stones. Full-bodied with a broad, mouth-filling tannin structure. Deep core of fruit with a mineral backbone. Long, persistent and a little chewy at the end. 71% petite sirah, 14% mourvedre, 12% grenache and 3% syrah. Drink or hold.

93pts Vinous

The 2019 Ingenuity wafts up from the glass with peppery rose and wild berry fruits offset by cedary spice. This is soft and enveloping with depths of dark red fruit and mineral tones that slowly saturate the palate. It finishes with incredible length and fine tannins that gently tug at the palate. Ingenuity is a blend of 71% Petite Sirah, 14% Mourvèdre, 12% Grenache and 3% Syrah.

93pts Wine Enthusiast

This Petite Sirah-led blend, which also includes Mourvèdre, Grenache and Syrah, starts with aromas of roasted blood sausage, charred violet and blistered berry on the asphalt-kissed nose. Polished tannins frame rich flavors of baked berry, plum, clove and cardamom, with charred beef on the finish.

Winemaker Notes

Entering dark and sultry at first sniff with aromas of dark earth, blackberry, black licorice, mocha, and vanilla, the 2019 Ingenuity becomes brighter and lighter as it hits the palate. Our beloved proprietary blend combines the robustness of Petite Sirah with the playfulness of Grenache and the grounding nature of Mourvèdre for a wine that has all the gears to keep you entertained and enthralled. The Petite offers black fruits, roasted herbs, rare red meat, gobs of structure; Grenache provides a boost of fresh red fruit and minerality; and Mourvèdre seals together/tames with its earthy roundness. A complex union of flavors encircles the palate – roasted coffee beans, graphite, vanilla, bramble berry fruit, loads of milk chocolate, cigar box aromas – and black licorice and coffee linger on the finish.

Blend: 71% Petite Sirah, 14% Mourvèdre, 12% Grenache, 3% Syrah

Vineyard: 100% Paderewski Vineyard 

About the Winery

Founded in 2004 by geologists, Bill and Liz Armstrong, Epoch has quickly developed a big reputation for handcrafted, small-production wines with abundant personalities. Under the careful care of Winemaker, Jordan Fiorentini, Epoch is committed to producing world-class wines from Rhône, Zinfandel, and Tempranillo varieties grown on their three west Paso Robles vineyards – Paderewski, Catapult, and York Mountain. Epoch’s Tasting Room and Winery are located on the storied York Mountain which was once home to the first bonded winery on the central coast. Preserving the rich history found on this property as well as Paderewski Vineyard, a sight once owned and cherished by the late Polish Prime Minister and pianist, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Epoch strives to carry on these legacies through their wines and the unique Epoch experience.

Through carefully managed, non-invasive farming, Epoch aims to bring the complex character of their vineyards into each bottle of wine they craft. All of Epoch's fruit comes from their three specific and unique sites: Paderewski, Catapult, and York Mountain Vineyards.