ONX estate spotlight
ONX Estate Vineyard Tour. The Templeton Gap ranch behind this 2019 Level 22.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher aggregates critic scores and open-market prices for this exact Templeton Gap red vintage. Our $41 sits under their published U.S. low of $41.80.
2019 ONX Level 22 Templeton Gap District Paso Robles, USA
Drew Nenow's Mourvedre-led Templeton Gap blend, named for twenty-two layers of limestone, Wine Enthusiast 92 at forty-one dollars.
The 2019 ONX Level 22 is 61 percent Mourvedre with Syrah, Grenache, and a drop of Viognier off the Olson family's Templeton Gap estate, Wine Enthusiast 92, now $41.
Twenty-two layers of limestone, one master-built blend
ONX named Level 22 for the limestone under the Templeton Gap estate and for the master-builder number in owner Steve Olson's home-building life. Drew Nenow built the 2019 around fully ripe Mourvedre, then Syrah, Grenache, and a splash of Viognier. Wine Enthusiast scored it 92: spicecake, ginger dust, baked berries, roasted red plum. This is the proof that Paso Rhone can be both warm and precise.
The house
The Olson family farms 127 acres in the Templeton Gap. Drew Nenow makes the wine. Level 22 is their Chateauneuf-inspired bottle.
The wine
61 percent Mourvedre, 22 percent Syrah, 16 percent Grenache, 1 percent Viognier. 15.5% ABV. A long, warm 2019 that still keeps spice and chalk.
The scores
Wine Enthusiast 92. Wine-Searcher aggregate 92. Built to drink now.
The drinker
Lamb chops or mushroom ragu. Serve near 62 F. A Saturday Rhone that still tastes like a site.
Spicecake, plum, and a chalky line
Wine Enthusiast: spicecake, ginger dust, baked berries, then roasted red plum and caramelized fennel on a suave palate. The house writes cranberry compote, charred rhubarb, lavender, green tea, anise, brown butter, and pencil shavings.
A warm, long growing season that let Mourvedre ripen fully. The 2019 Level 22 drinks now.
Spicecake, baked berries, cranberry, dried apricot, lavender, green tea, anise, pencil shavings.
Suave mid-palate, fine tannin, 15.5% ABV, Mourvedre frame with Syrah and Grenache lift.
Caramelized fennel, tobacco, pine. Serve near 62 F. A short decant.
Mourvedre first, then the rest of the estate
ONX's own notes on Level 22 start with Mourvedre that finally ripened all the way in a warm, long year, then supporting Rhone varieties inspired by Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Drew Nenow built the 2019 at 61 percent Mourvedre, 22 percent Syrah, 16 percent Grenache, and 1 percent Viognier. Wine Enthusiast tasted spicecake and fennel, not just heat. That is the cellar: ripe fruit, then spice and chalk.
The Olson family farms in the Templeton Gap, eight miles from the ocean, where afternoon cool-down keeps acid in the grapes. Eighteen varieties on the estate. Level 22 is the blend that has to be masterfully built every year.
The name is a double meaning. Twenty-two layers of limestone under the vines. The number 22 as the master builder. Serve near 62 F. Drink now.
Limestone, onyx calcite, and a builder's number
ONX is named for the onyx calcite in the estate soils. Level 22 is named for the limestone layers and a builder's number.
The 127-acre ONX Estate sits in the Templeton Gap District of Paso Robles. Certified sustainable, ocean-cooled afternoons, and soils that actually put onyx in the winery's name.
Drew Nenow came up at Cal Poly. The cellar team talks about Level 22 the way a builder talks about a house: a foundation of Mourvedre, then the rest stacked for balance.
The 2019 is that house in a warm year. Fully ripe Mourvedre. Spice and chalk still showing. A bottle meant for the table.
Lamb on the plate, mushrooms in the bowl
Templeton Gap Mourvedre wants herb, char, and earth.
Two plates. One set of lamb chops. One bowl of mushroom ragu.
Serve near 62 F. A short decant.
Herb-crusted lamb chops
Hard sear, chimichurri, roasted carrots. The herb line in the wine.
Why it works: Lamb fat and green herb match Mourvedre spice while the wine's acidity cuts the chop.
View Recipe for grilled lamb chops (opens in a new tab)
Mushroom ragu on polenta
Thyme, wild mushrooms, cream. The earth and fennel in the 2019.
Why it works: Mushroom umami and polenta cream echo roasted plum while chalky tannin stays upright.
View Recipe for polenta with mushroom ragu (opens in a new tab)Open Level 22 tonight
Wine Enthusiast 92. Mourvedre-led Level 22. $21 when you buy two.
Put it in the cart. This is the Templeton Gap Rhone that closes the proof without asking for Napa money.
