Chateau Margene At Limerock Orchards

Limerock Orchards, producer of walnuts and walnut oil, is still open at this location. Château Margene has relocated to Morro Bay.

Good wine, but a little on the pricy side. They do have some interesting blends and reserves they offer. In addition to Château Margene is the Mooney line of wines, which they pour as well. They share tasting room space with Roxo, a port wine company. The staff is friendly here.

Excellent wines. The Pinot, GSM, and Syrah were way above average. If you like tannins and a long finish. Great service from Blake. His wine that he just made, was also worth purchasing and laying down for a a while.

I love the 2 wines that they were pouring of château. What I don’t love is the attendants attitude. As a local and someone who works in the industry, I was very disappointed. As soon as the guy behind the counter found out we were industry, he completely abandoned us. I may be young, and I may be in the industry, but I know my wines and I deserve to be treated like anyone else. If the option to buy online is available, I’d rather do that than go back to Château Margene.

One of my top three or four wineries in the Paso/​San Luis areas, Château Margene is truly family run and produces small quantities of truly top quality wines.
Pro tip for you – they have a box wine non-​vintage meritage for about $ 55 (for four bottles worth) that is really, really great as an every-​day drinker or party wine. They don’t generally advertise it, and it’s not branded Mooney or Château Margene, but it’s made by them and they do have it if you inquire.
Normally, a bottle of their fabulous cab or other varietals will set you back at least $ 45, often up to 70 – 80. Totally worth it.
They are also really accommodating – we called ahead from Le Cuvier wanting to stop by on a quick trip in the area about 5 minutes until closing and about a 15 minute drive away, and not only did they accommodate us but we had a blast when we arrived and took home some great wine.

This winery is amazing and a must stop in Paso Robles!

One thing that is great about wine is that everyone’s palate is different, each will have their likes and dislikes. wines they love and wines they don’t. however to make a statement like Frenchie B’s that a wine is «amateur» or «should not be mentioned in the same breath as burgundy» is ridiculous, frenchie are you Jancis Robinson in disguise? are you a critic for burghound? do you drink DRC for breakfast? (DRC frenchie is a little place in burgundy… France), I do not think you are that fortunate. Mike Mooney is one of the premier wine makers in the Paso Robles AVA. I, living in the area have been fortunate enough to taste most of our 200 plus winery’s, this doesn’t make me an expert but it has given me enough experience to know what my palate likes and doesn’t. In my opinion Mike makes a fantastic Pinot and a World Class Cabernet Sauvignon, truly the best cab in the Paso AVA. most of the lower ratings I have seen for Château Margene are based off cost. is this wine expensive? yes, it is. however most of our West side Paso (and a few east side) are handcrafted, small lot, artisanal wines, manufacturing only a few thousand cases per year. you simply cannot purchase the best fruit, the best barrels, baby and nurture a wine for three years to maturation and offer if to the public for 20.00. if you think a world class wine is the «top shelf» of your local Von’s, yes, you will be shell shocked. however not to fear our hwy 46 east winery’s that produce hundreds of thousands of cases a year can supply that for you. if you want the very best that Paso Robles has to offer then Château Margene cannot be passed by.

I came home exclaiming that I think I just found one of my new favorite wines… and wineries! My husband and I were there on a Monday. Not a rush of people of course, but there were definitely people coming in and out. Jon was the guy (I believe he is the son) that was pouring that day. Well, we ended up spending about 2 ½ hourse there. He was awesome and very knowledgeable. Super friendly and what a great atmosphere. Their wines are not on the budget side for sure, but super tasty. Our favorite of the day was the Pinot Reserve. We opened some with friends the next week-​end and they were impressed and loved it. I gave Château Margene 5 stars because our experience was awesome! I can’t imagine not having a good experience, but some times that happens. My suggestion would be to give it another shot… its worth it. Thanks Mooney family for some delicious wines!

Bust…
Ok, the Pinot was really good but
1. Prices were out of whack with the quality
2. I think the owner is pre-​empting the arrival of the Napa globals and turning this into a pretentious tasting valley.
Sorry but some good wine, some average wine and some serious attitude vibes being parlayed.

Micheal Mooney, owner of Château Margene, is not only a lovely host at his home/​winery he is an amazing winemaker. After visiting the tasting room on Friday and meeting John Mooney, Michaels son, and tasting some great wines, we asked if we could tour the property.
We went on Saturday and we were treated to some amazing wines, even some that had never been poured in the tasting room.
I was very partial to the Pinot Noir and Petite Syrah. On Friday I tasted and bought the 2009 Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands. Not normally a Pinot drinker I found this one right up my alley. It was big! It coated the mouth with luscious flavors. I was in love.
Then Saturday when I didn’t think it could get any better… it did!
When Michael poured the 2009 Reserve Pinot Noir Clones 115 & Pommard 4 Santa Lucia Highlands.
2 wines from the same vineyard with completely different styles and tastes. The Reserve was a beautifully smooth mouth, more re-​fined. I would call it the «wealthy Aunt with the perfect hat, gloves and style»
This one should be shared, or … Maybe not!
In close the Mooney Family of wines is a MUST on your next visit to Paso Robles.

Great Wine– The wine isn’t cheap, but well worth it.

This winery was recommended to me by my boss. It’s in the pricey range with most bottles being in the $ 50+ range. It’s a micro-​winery specializing in very small lots of luxury wines. Wine tasting is $ 15 for 5 tastes and is waived with the purchase of two bottles.
I thought the wine here was phenomenal. There’s a reason this wine is so expensive. Other reviewers say the service was snooty and standoffish. We were treated like royalty by very kind staff who took the time to explain what they offered.
I purchased a bottle of their 2010 Grenache Blanc which is a delicious white wine both Donna and I enjoyed. I also purchased their 2007 Cielo Rosso which is a Sangiovese Blend. Excellent tasting.

Good wine, good service and with the picturesque pond backdrop, Château Margene is also a nice picnic stop. This was also a friendlier crowd than other places we stopped at — maybe it had something to do with it being later in the day and people were several wine tastings into their day…
Nevertheless, the wines were good. Like the rest of Paso, maybe a little overpriced though? If you’re in the area (it’s a little off the beaten path) stop here.

After hearing good things about the wine at Château Margene, we decided to stop there on our Paso wine tasting trip. I could not have come away more underwhelmed. When we arrived there were maybe two other groups in the tasting room, hardly a crowd requiring a lot of attention. The employees greeted us and were polite, but had ZERO interaction with us. As many veteran wine tasters know, being able to ask questions and interact with the staff is one of the best parts about tasting and getting an intimate feel for the winter, the operation, and their cultivation and wine making approach. But not here!
I may have exaggerated a bit… the staff didn’t not say a sing word to us, one of them did respond to my by agreeing «that’s a good one!» when I complimented them on the Cabernet Sauvignon, but pleeease, can you come up with something slightly more generic to say about your wine?
Basically, the staff seemed completely aloof the entire time. The only time they interacted with us was to pour us another tasting.
Need I mention that the tasting fee is a complete rip off? $ 10 to taste 4 wines, all with mediocre pours? Definitely a mediocre value at best.
I must add that they are charging about $ 55 per bottle. The wines were good, but not $ 55 good, I would have paid maybe $ 30 at the most. This winery must be out of their mind if they expect to sell their reds for Napa prices.
As I said, don’t fall prey like we did and listen to the recommendations from the staff at other wineries, take a pass on Château Margene.

the tasting fee is pretty steep — $ 15. but, the wines are all good. you will not spend under $ 48/​bottle.
And, if you are traveling with your dog — they don’t allow dogs. There’s a sign when you pull up saying «dogs must remain in cars».
The petite sirah & mouvedre are amazing!

Not only do I love the wine at Château Margene, but I love the tasting experience. Unlike other tasting rooms, this experience is intimate and a great opportunity to talk «wine». The team was gracious and very willing to answer questions and engage. The tasting room isn’t filled with needless t-​shirts, but rather focuses on the wine and the fantastic walnut oil they produce. You can even buy walnuts in bulk there — which I think is so very cool.
We only bought two bottles of the Reserve Cab and already, I am wishing we’d purchased more. But no matter, we’ll be back again!

There are very few wineries that I hand over my credit card to, but I’ve been a member of Château Margene’s wine club after tasting their wonderful wines. The wine maker and his sons produce some of the best wine in the Paso Robles region. I consider Michael Mooney one of two local masters of Paso cabs. Also be sure to try some of the powdered chocolate covered walnuts.
9÷10÷10 — just went by for a Friday afternoon picnic. I highly recommend tasting the 2005 Reserve Cab. If they still have some bottles left, buy them! It is some of the best cab that I’ve had in a long time.

I wish this review could have been based on the actual wine tasting experience but that would be impossible if you never were served any wine to taste!
Myself, my husband and our niece were on a wonderful road trip to celebrate my birthday and to start our niece on experiencing the joys of wine tasting, particularly in the beautiful Paso Robles region.
When we arrived, there were 2 couples at the tasting bar and one of the couples was purchasing wine. There were 3 employees in the tasting room. There was an open spot at the end of the main tasting table and one completely open tasting bar, unattended. I stood with my niece at the end of the main tasting table waiting for 5 minutes or longer with no one even acknowledging our presence — you can imagine how upset I was becoming but as I didn’t want to cause a scene, I had my husband stand up to take my place and even he didn’t get any acknowledgment (he’s a big guy and hard to miss). Another young couple came into the winery and were immediately greeted and taken over to the aforementioned unattended tasting table and were served the tasting menu.
To be polite, I will just say that all persons being attended to were of the same cultural persuasion while the three of us were not and although it was 90 plus degrees outside, the tasting room was sufficient to maintain a nice chardonnay at the preferred serving temperature. If I could rate less than one star I would.

What a gem! This location was new to us and apparently they’ve only opened this room since Nov 2009. WOW — so glad to add this winery to our list of favorites in Paso. Not only are the grounds and tasting room just beautiful, but the wines are fantastic. Pretty much straight down the tasting room list — I would have bought a bottle each if I could! Our tasting room host, Brandon, was amazing. So attentive and knowledgeable, not the least bit pretentious and you could see, genuinely loves his job! Great place — we highly recommend you stop there. Grab a bottle and enjoy their back patio — gorgeous comfy seating that overlooks a quiet pond. We’ll be back!

Château Margene was my favorite stop on our Paso Robles wine tasting trip. I enjoyed every wine on the tasting menu. I could have swirled the 2006 Paso Cuvee bottle all day for the aromas. This location just opened in November of 2009. The service was warm, friendly, and even attentive for a busy Saturday afternoon. We purchased their Pinot Noir to enjoy in their back patio area which overlooked the pond.
Our trip included all the great wineries listed below, but this one stood out to me.
Justin
Jada
Denner
Linne Colado