2020 Niner Wine Estates Red Bootjack Paso Robles 6pk 6x750ml

Bootjack Ranch is where the whole Niner story started — the first vineyard the family bought, back in 1999, planted on the warm eastern side of Paso Robles. This is their Bordeaux blend for the rest of us: the swagger of their high-end Fog Catcher, at a price built for a Tuesday. The 2020 is bold, lush, and decidedly easy to drink — dark berry fruit, blackcurrant, a hit of baker's chocolate and exotic oak spice over tannins that are soft and round enough to pour on their own.

The build is deliberate. Cabernet Franc lays the structural foundation with its dry, firm tannin. Cabernet Sauvignon brings complex dark fruit. Malbec adds that mouthwatering, juicy lift. Around that core, splashes of Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Carménère add depth and a little Paso wildness — a true estate blend that shows off the range of what Niner farms.

Niner is a second-generation, family-owned winery, more than twenty years into the ground and 100% estate grown — they make wine only from grapes they farm themselves. The winery and tasting room are LEED Certified and fully solar powered, every vineyard is SIP Certified, and in 2016 Niner became the first business ever to earn the program's Winery Certification. In 2023 they added the California Green Medal Award for Business.

Bootjack is the work of Patrick Muran, Niner's winemaker since 2013. A UC Santa Barbara microbiology grad, Patrick came up in the early 2000s under acclaimed French winemaker Christian Roguenant, then joined Niner and never left. A scientist by training and a surfer by obsession, he brings precision to a wine built for pleasure — letting Paso's warm-climate fruit run bold while keeping the structure honest.

Fire up the grill. This is a burger-and-ribs red — bold enough for steak, round enough to drink on its own.