2007 Treana Red Paso Robles
Some of you may remember the dinner I had with my fellow blogger and wine friend John, The Wine Raconteur, earlier this year. John, being the wonderfully generous man that he is brought us a bottle of wine as a gift, which caught us off guard because we clearly did not anticipate this, and had nothing to reciprocate. Well, we promised to make up for it and we will. The wine John gave us was the 2007 Treana Red, a wine from Paso Robles on California’s central coast.
I am not very familiar with California wines: I find most to be overpriced and the chief reliance on Cabernet Sauvignon, a grape variety I am not overly fond of, doesn’t help. I explained earlier that a good friend of ours has made me drink more California reds and I have found ways and makers that I enjoy, but I am still a complete ignoramus when it comes to these wines. I might have heard Paso Robles before, but I would not be able to locate it on a map at all. So, I am afraid a drew a blank when John gave me the wine and looked at me expectantly…I still feel guilty for that.
In an order to redeem myself, I did some research: Treana is part of the family owned Hope Family Wines company which maintains five different brands, of which Treana is one. The family arrived in the late 1970s and planted apple trees and vines. They planted the classic varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Grenache. In 1996, they produced their first Treana white and red. The current owner and winemaker, Austin Hope, is the son of the founders who was eight when the family moved to Paso Robles.
Treana Red is what the winery deems its flagship wine (I was SHOCKED to see the retail price! John, thank you so much!!). The wine is made with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Syrah. It is sourced from their up to eight different best vineyards in Paso Robles. It is fermented with cultivated yeasts and matures for ten to 14 months in French oak (50% new oak). The grapes ripen separately, and in the summer the best barrels are combined in barrels. Before filling, the wine is moved to a tank. The winery describes it as somewhere between a Napa and a Bordeaux wine (now if I only knew what that could possibly mean). According to the label, the 2007 had 15.5% ABV.
The wine poured in an inviting ruby red. The nose was full of cassis, as in full of it. Gorgeous. Add in some perfumy and herbal notes (branches). It was deep and inviting. On the palate, the medium-bodied Treana initially hit us with a quite strong acidity that made it feel unbalanced. There were peppery notes, the perfume continued. But we couldn’t get over how acidic it was. The texture however was great, a really nice silky mouth feel. The finish was of medium length with some bitterness.
We waited a bit, and lo and behold, some beautiful crushed coffee bean aromas started showing up in the finish. I loved that. After an hour, the wine was more herbal and felt much more concentrated than we initially thought, but the acidity persisted. Only after two hours was the acidity finally balanced and gave the wine a good structure.
Nina really liked the wine, and I thought it was pretty good, too. We have different tastes in red wine, and she likes the bigger reds more than me, so that makes sense. Thank you, John and your lovely bride, for providing a great evening for us!
the winegetter 
I just noticed that this post did not show up in my wordpress reader so I’m late to the party.
Completely agree with you that Californian wine is heavily overpriced (some Italian wine is overpriced, too like Brunello or Barolo). I’ve seen quite a few very expensive Californian wines in stores (150€+ per bottle).
Glad you enjoyed the wine though :)
The Reader is so weird sometimes…I have had new posts showing up and not in really unpredictable ways…it sucks.
Yes, I agree that a lot is overpriced. But then again, that is the beauty of gifts. I don’t really have to care about it. :)
Paso Robles and The Wine Raconteur strike again :)
Hahaha, I love how this community has gotten to know each other over the last year!
Cheers to that!
Oliver,
We are glad that you and Nina enjoyed the wine. You may know more about this wine, then we learned from two different wine tastings that we attended, and one was conducted by reps of the company. We enjoyed this wine at both tastings and bought a case of it between the two tastings along with other wines. I selected this wine for you, as it sounded like a wine that you would not gravitate towards on your own.
I do hope that you realize that the gift was in friendship and not for the sake of any reciprocity. Wine is for experimenting with and to discover a new sensation that appeals to you. We certainly enjoyed the evening and your company and look forward to doing it again in the future.
– John and Judy
Dear John,
you did an excellent job picking the wine, and I absolutely LOVE the idea behind it: giving me something to try that you, having gotten to know me through this blog, rightly thought was not on my usual list of wines I try. I really, really appreciate that.
And yes, I know that this gift came from the heart and is a token of friendship. It is just humbling, and always humbles me when that happens…just a bit overwhelming.
Give Judy a hug from us!
Thank you my friend and I am glad that you enjoyed it. I will also extend your wishes to my Bride.
Very nice review as always, Oliver: I am with you on finding most of the (often very good) Californian wines to be overpriced, especially compared to excellent French, Italian or Spanish alternatives (just to remain in the Old World). Well, at least there are good alternatives out there for us to choose from, right?! :-)
Oh, you bet!! And I am always happy to hear if someone is with me on these cost issues.
Definitely overpriced! Almost never buy them for exactly that reason. I prefer my Portuguese and Italian wines, which have ALWAYS a better P-Q ratio.
Well, a lot of the better Italian wines are also reaching my financial limits…but I am totally with you on the Portuguese. It is hard to beat their PQR.