Review: Wines of McPrice Myers, 2023 Releases
McPrice Myers isn’t a partnership but rather a person. His first name is McPrice, or “Mac” to his friends. The Paso Robles winemaker has been cranking out wines since 2002, and today he bottles them under a bevy of different labels — but all revolving around Paso-born fruit. We received a sampling of bottles that represent the spectrum of Myers’s production. Let’s give them a try.
2021 Mac & Billy “M” Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles – An unusual and unexpected expression of cabernet sauvignon (with small amounts of malbec, merlot, and petite sirah), this wine comes across with layers of earth and lots of anise, building up a combination of red and black fruit that is more dried than juicy. The notes of fresh-turned soil and anise are infiltrated by elements of freeze-dried raspberries, cherry cola, and a turn of canned/cooked fruit on the finish that provides a funkier form of sweetness than I’d like — but which might work in oddball scenarios. B- / $25
2021 McPrice Myers Beautiful Earth Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles – This is a more lush, fruit-forward wine than the “M” bottling, making for a more straightforward but less complex expression of cabernet. Raspberry and currants pave the way for notes of milk chocolate, cinnamon raisins, and a lingering layer of baking spice, reminiscent of gingerbread. A touch of mint emerges on the finish. Balanced for the most part but heavy on the fruit, the semi-sweet finish evokes the more sunny and jammy side of wines produced in Paso, where more brooding cabs tend to reign. B+ / $60
2021 McPrice Myers Bull By the Horns Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles – Part of a collection of “premium wines that don’t break the bank,” featuring boldface, all-caps, big-box branding. It’s definitely an approachable cabernet sauvignon, if short of premium, featuring a slightly cooked character reminiscent of the Beautiful Earth bottling, but without the hefty black fruit underneath. Cranberry, tomato, and (oddly) carrot seem to run the show here, with a gentle cherry and plum quality filling in the gaps. The short finish is sweeter than expected, offering a strawberry character but quite innocuous. Oddly I don’t mind it, though it’s kind of like how once a year I order a tomato juice while I’m on a plane. B / $25
2021 McPrice Myers Bull By the Horns Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles
$25
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