16 Jun Please The Palate Wine of the Week: ONX Wines Mad Crush 2017 Paso Robles

What goes better with a juicy steak at dinner than a good bottle of red wine. I opened up a red blend from Paso Robles to enjoy with my meal and must say that I have a mad crush on the ONX Wines 2017 Mad Crush, the Please The Palate wine of the week. ONX (“onyx’) Wines is a 127-acre estate vineyard located in the Templeton Gap. A second vineyard, Kiler Canyon Vineyard, is located in the Willow Creek AVA and planted to Syrah, known to be some of the best in the country. ONX Wines was started in 2004 by Steve Olson. Director of Operations & Winegrowing Jeff Strekas manages the vineyards which are planted with 18 different grape varieties. Winemaker Drew Nenow joined ONX in 2015 and focuses on making wines that each have their own personality. ONX Wines produces balanced and complex blends and Mad Crush is a Grenache based blend. The 2017 Mad Crush is a blend of 35% Grenache, 29% Tempranillo, 24% Mourvedre, 5% Syrah, 5% zinfandel, and 2% Petite Sirah. A bright red color, the wine has a really pretty nose of cherry, raspberry, and dried flowers, as well as sweet notes of tobacco, leather, and brown sugar. On the palate, the wine finishes with flavors of cherry, blackberry, tobacco, and spice. The wine is smooth with slightly drying tannins that mix well with the fresh acidity. ONX Wines Mad Crush retails for $48 and is a good wine to pair with beef or lamb dishes.