Clesi (San Luis Obispo)

We recently attended the fifth annual Wine and Grill event in San Luis Obispo. It's a wonderful event with great music and wine tasting provided by local winery's, and it's all to benefit the Transitions-Mental Health Association. The event was held at the Clesi winery, so we decided to stop inside to do a tasting.

First Impressions:

The tasting room was popular that day. Despite the busyness, the staff were friendly and attentive to us. The tasting was held in the large barrel room, and it was fun to see where the magic happens. I'm not sure if tastings are typically held in the barrel room, or if that was done because of the event. The tasting counter was small and did not have any seating. It isn't a tasting room where you could sit with a glass of wine and chat, but purely for tasting. The winery is conveniently located on the historic Filipponi Ranch, which contributes to it's ranch feel, with golden hills and oak trees. The winery is just off the highway in San Luis Obispo, but there don't appear to be any other wineries near by.

These were the wines available for tasting:

2011 Malvasia Bianca - San Bernabe, Monterey
2009 Dolcetto - Juan Nevarex Vineyard, Paso Robles
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon - Paso Robles
2009 Sangiovese - Paso Robles
 2009 Barbera - Siletto Ranch, San Benito
 (I skipped the wines that were just for the special event, and the Wine Club only selections)

Wines we tried:

2011 Malvasia Bianca ($20) This was the wine Clesi entered into the tasting event, to be judged by the public. We ended up voting it as our favorite. It was a beautiful white, a bit dry, and very good. I don't normally like dry wine, but I enjoyed this.  

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon ($28) A dramatic cab. It would do well with food, and has a nice clean finish.

2009 Sangiovese ($28) This wine is very strong on the palette. It was a bit too rough for me, but I would imagine others would enjoy it.  

2009 Barbera ($26) Another astringent wine, but really fruity

Take Note:

Tasting is $10 per person, and waived with a purchase. Clesi does have a wine club, where members pay less for wine (15%-25%). They also sell their own stemware.