The Beauty of Time: Parrish’s 2016 Horizontal Tasting
Would you like to step in our Parrish wine cellar? Let's revisit the 2016 vintage and taste how beautifully time transforms wine!
At Parrish Family Vineyard, we believe wine tells a story—not just of the land and the vintage, but of time itself. Winemakers often keep library wines—older vintages held back from release—for educational, marketing, and quality-assessment purposes. These wines offer insight into a wine’s age-worthiness, allow producers and collectors to understand how their wines evolve over time, and serve as a benchmark for stylistic consistency. Library wines are also valuable in horizontal tastings, where multiple wines from the same vintage are compared side by side, showcasing how different varieties express a single year’s growing conditions.
Library wines are a way to understand how wine transforms—from vibrant and youthful to layered and mature.
The Story of the 2016 Vintage
Our recent horizontal tasting of Parrish’s 2016 vintage red wines offered a remarkable glimpse into how time has enhanced these estate-grown expressions. As you explore each wine, notice how its aromas and flavors have evolved. In wine, there are three layers of aroma - primary (fresh fruit and floral), secondary (spice and oak) and tertiary (earthy, savory notes) that reveal how a wine matures from youthful vibrancy to graceful complexity. After nearly a decade, the structure, acidity, and fruit integrity in these wines speak volumes about the age-worthiness of our Paso Robles terroir.
2016 Petite Sirah
100% Petite Sirah
A bold, expressive wine that has gracefully evolved. In its youth, this Petite Sirah was robust and juicy. Today, it shows deep ruby hues with violet undertones, and an alluring bouquet of dried prune, dark tobacco, chocolate, and cloves. The palate is elegant yet powerful, with fine-grained tannins and medium-plus acidity supporting a smooth, medium-bodied structure. It's a testament to the variety's longevity and balance.
2016 Malbec
100% Malbec
Originally showcasing vibrant dark fruits, the 2016 Malbec has softened into a velvety, richly textured wine. It opens with ripe plum, blackberry, and raspberry, delicately accented by a touch of licorice. Medium-plus acidity and a supple mouthfeel elevate the wine’s balance, revealing how Malbec can retain freshness while gaining complexity with age.
2016 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
This wine exemplifies the classic evolution of age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon. What began as a bold expression of dark fruit has matured into a nuanced profile of graphite, petrichor, blueberry, black cherry, and pepper, laced with subtle oak and toast. On the palate, the medium-plus acidity and velvety tannins offer structure and elegance, while the vibrant fruit core and lengthy finish show this wine is still in its prime.
2016 Silken
55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Syrah, 20% Petite Sirah
Silken lives up to its name more than ever with time. A blend designed for harmony, it now shows a beautiful integration of plum, black cherry, black tea, and leather, supported by a quiet herbal complexity. The medium-plus body and long, seamless finish reflect a wine that has settled into graceful maturity, offering depth without losing its lift.
2016 Four Chords
55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 10% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot
This artistic blend of Bordeaux varietals is a true composition. In 2016, it was powerful and fruit-driven; today, it’s a layered, symphonic wine. Aromas of blackberry, fig, plum, and earth unfold with a touch of flint and jamminess. On the palate, juicy Malbec adds lift, while Cabernet’s structure and velvety tannins provide depth. Bright acidity on the mid-palate keeps the wine fresh, making it a standout of balance and expression.
The Aging Process: Barrel and Bottle Maturation in Traditional Winemaking
In countries like Spain and France, extended aging in oak barrels followed by bottle aging before release is a long-standing tradition. In regions like Rioja or Bordeaux, this method softens tannins, stabilizes the wine, and promotes the development of tertiary characteristics—leather, dried fruit, forest floor, and spice—all of which we now see emerging beautifully in our 2016 wines.
“Barrel aging allows the wine to evolve slowly, as small amounts of oxygen enter through the wood, softening tannins and enhancing aromatic complexity.” — The Oxford Companion to Wine (Jancis Robinson, 2015)
At Parrish Family Vineyard, we embrace this philosophy. Our wines, including the 2016 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and 2016 Four Chords, were aged extensively in new French oak, then further developed in bottle to achieve elegance, stability, and expressive complexity.
Understanding Aromas: The Role of Time
Wine aromas evolve with time and are typically categorized into:
● Primary aromas (fruit-driven: blackberry, cherry, citrus)
● Secondary aromas (fermentation/oak-derived: toast, vanilla, spice)
● Tertiary aromas (aged notes: leather, tobacco, dried herbs)
In our 2016 horizontal, we see all three at play. For example, the Petite Sirah now offers rich chocolate and tobacco (secondary), with dried prune and subtle leather (tertiary). The Silken Blend, once bright with plum and cherry, now offers deeper earth tones and herbal complexity. This is the magic of time in the bottle.
When Is Wine Ready?
Knowing when to open a wine depends on its structure and aging potential. Wines like our 2016 Reserve Cabernet and 2016 Four Chords, with their high acidity and structured tannins, are built to age 10+ years, though they're currently showing beautifully.
Signs a wine has matured:
● Integrated fruit, oak, and earth aromas
● Softened tannins
● Balanced mouthfeel and finish
● Color shift (e.g., ruby to garnet in reds)
If you're unsure, start a personal vertical collection. Taste one bottle every few years and let the wine tell its story. “The best way to determine when to drink a wine is to track its development over time… If you're not sure, try buying several bottles and opening one every year or two.” — Wine Spectator
Taste the Passage of Time
Wine is a living, evolving thing—and our 2016 horizontal tasting demonstrates just how beautifully it can age. Each bottle—from the elegance of Petite Sirah to the layered symphony of Four Chords—offers a unique moment in time.
Whether you're building your cellar or simply curious about the journey of wine, our Parrish library wines invite you to explore the rewards of patience, craftsmanship, and heritage.
Taste the vintage. Experience the story.
Join us July 17th-21st for a 2016 Horizontal Tasting!
$45 per Horizontal Tasting
Club Members Receive 2 Complimentary Horizontal Tastings
Make a Reservation to Visit Here for 7/17-7/21/25
Our Tasting Room is Open Thursdays-Mondays
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