Willy Newman is a businessman from Ann Arbor, and I remember the first time that I tasted his Tre Son wines, was at my local wine shop The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan back in 2018 and I was told that it was an exclusive to the wine shop.  In August of 2021 was the next time that I tried the wine, and it was an impromptu tasting with the owner of the winery and the first time that I met Willie Newman. 

We started with Dunning Vineyards Chardonnay Paso Robles/Willow Creek District 2023.  They are neighbors of Tre Son Wines, and they do the crushing and wine production for Tre Son as well as their own wines. So, Willie Newman always begins by showcasing this wine and gives them some much appreciated attention in Michigan.   Bob and Jo-Ann Dunning are the winemakers and owners of this forty-acre estate which was established in 1991 on the west side of Paso Robles.  The winery produces about fifteen-hundred cases a year using several different varietals.  This Chardonnay wine is produced in the classic Burgundian style with full oak barrel fermentation and sur-lees aged for one year.  This was a golden-yellow wine that offered notes of pear and citrus, nutmeg and vanilla.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of white fruit, citrus and had a nice creamy taste with balanced acidity and layers of flavor that opened and ended with a medium-count finish of fruit, citrus and terroir.

We then were treated to a vertical tasting of Tres Son Zinfandel Paso Robles, 4 Hearts Vineyard 2020, 2021 and 2022.  Tre Son Winery is the label from 4 Hearts Vineyard in Paso Robles.  My wine shop helped design the label and helped secure the proper paperwork in the Byzantine labyrinth, that is how Michigan can sell wines.  The vineyard was bought in 2004, which at the time was a walnut ranch, and the first fifteen acres of thirty-seven were planted in 2007, of which ten acres were Zinfandel.  The vineyard is owned by the gentleman Willie Newman who hails from Ann Arbor, Michigan who now divides his time between Michigan with his current business and residing in Paso Robles which will eventually be his retirement home and business.  The 4 Hearts refer to his wife and his three daughters.  When one considers the tender young age of this vineyard, it is well respected by some other wineries that use their fruit.  Some of the wineries listed by the vineyard include some of their earliest purchasers like Dunning Vineyard, Saxum Vineyards and Venteux Vineyards and many others.  I have had tasted the Zinfandel wines since the 2009 vintage, including the 2010 “Private Stash.” I will discuss the Tre Son Zinfandel 4 Heart Vineyard Paso Robles 2022. The wine is aged for twelve months in neutral French Oak to allow the grape to shine as opposed to the spices inherent in the oak.  This deep purple wine offered notes of black fruit and pepper.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of black cherry and plums, not a fruit bomb, but a nice chewy wine that featured good, but young tannins and ended with a good medium-count finish of fruit, spices and terroir.

We then had the Tre Son Cabernet Sauvignon 4 Hearts Vineyard Paso Robles 2022, and Willie Newman joined me, as he said that he hadn’t tasted this wine since it arrived in Michigan.  The wine was aged for six months in a mix of new and neutral French Oak barrels.  The winery uses the dry-farming techniques, and I am not sure if this was the cause for my notes, but I wrote “great terroir.” This deep garnet colored wine offered notes of black cherry, blackberry, cassis and plums followed with spices and earth.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced displayed tones of dark fruit, spices blending with supple tannins ending with a good medium-count finish of fruit, spices and terroir.