Heard of it? Been there? The winemaker and co-owner of Lone Madrone, Neil Collins, is also the Executive Winemaker and Vineyard Manager at Tablas Creek here in Paso Robles. We’ve talked about Tablas Creek before on the blog but we haven’t really mentioned Lone Madrone much, if at all. So on our way home from Cambria this past weekend we decided to stop off and check them out again. It had been a while but we have visited their tasting room several times in the past.
Lone Madrone is located conveniently on HWY 46 West and on this same property is one of Kenneth Volk’s tasting rooms as well as Fat Cat Farms. So there’s a lot to do with one stop…you have to love convenience! The property is quaint and rustic, which in my opinion defines the Paso Robles wine experience.
Let’s get to the wine, here is what we tasted:
2010 Chenin Blanc
2010 Points West White (Roussanne, Viognier, Marsanne, & Picpoul Blanc)
2009 Bailey Ranch Zinfandel
2010 The Dodd (Tannat, Zinfandel, Petite Verdot, & Cabernet Sauvignon)
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
2009 Points West Red (Syrah, Mourvedre, & Grenache)
The wines were quite nice and Mary did a great job taking us through the list. We walked away with Points West White, The Dodd, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Points West Red. These were the wines that met the needs of our palate that specific day!! Oh, and we also tasted their Bristol’s Cider and had to grab a couple of bottles of that…really enjoyed that too!
Now to customer service, I hate to sound like a broken record but Annie and I are huge advocates of quality customer service and highlighting those that do it right. Lone Madrone did a fantastic job and Mary was awesome. We talked about the wine and babies (since we had Sammy with us) and she carried it very well. We really appreciate it and kudos to those wineries, Lone Madrone included, that understand customer service is not that hard. It’s about being human and being real. You don’t need to overdo it but you most certainly cannot under-do it.
Cheers folks and be sure to check out Lone Madrone!
That’s great Matt! FY, I Freelance for Ian Blackburn/Learn About Wine working on a Project for him calling a few PR wineries for the event coming to LA at Takami Restaurant & Elevate Lounge Trade Tasting 2-5pm Consumer 6-10pm, Lone Madrone was one of the wineries I sent an invitation to, I hope they will be able to attend in March. I might attend this event and hope they will be there so I can meet them and taste their wine.
Very nice Bev. I am familiar with Ian and the work he does, good stuff! Let me know if Lone Madrone makes it down there, would like to hear your thoughts on the wines. 🙂
For sure, I will keep you posted. Cheers!
Thanks Bev!! 🙂
Love me some Lone Madrone! We visited when we were in Paso for the last April for Rhone Rangers…we too had a great customer service experience when we were there!
Martin, oh that’s awesome. Love hearing about visitor experience when they come to Paso. I think their lineup of wines is solid and throw in that Cider…gotta love it. I am a huge advocate of customer service, it disappoints me to no end when I see it done poorly. Glad you had a good experience! 🙂
Lone Madrone is one of my top 5 favorite wineries in Paso Robles. That list varies from year to year, but Lone Madrone is always on it. Neil does magic with his wines, bold and unadventurous. You picked several of my favorites, the Points West White, Dodd, Cab and Points West Red are all exceptional – but I don’t understand how you could have skipped the Bailey Zin !
I completely agree with your comments about the staff. I can’t tell you how many wineries I have left disappointed, not because of the wine, but because of poor service.
Mark, well cheers to that. Thanks for the comment. As for the Zin, it was definitely nice but Zin is not something we drink on a regular basis. When it comes to reds we are big Rhone fans….as well as Cab, Pinot, etc. We are certainly lucky to be living in Paso!! 🙂