In the world of superstar winemakers, Eric Jensen is way up the list. His winery, Booker Vineyards, gets high 90’s in all the wine publications and is frequently mentioned in Wine Spectator’s top 100. Eric’s wines are cult classics that are hard to find because most of it is sold directly to the consumer. Which translates to ‘if you ain’t on the list, you don’t get none.’ All his Booker wines sell for over $100 if you are lucky enough to find some. Now that I teased you with what you can’t have, let us talk about what you can have. Eric Jensen’s wine creation he calls My Favorite Neighbor.

Eric Jensen, like many in the wine industry, is a rock and roller at heart. He was a concert promoter that decided he had enough of the hustle and bustle, not to mention the fake people in that industry. In his quest to get back to earth, Eric and his wife Lisa bought 100 acres of land in the heart of Paso Robles in 2001, 60 acres under vine on the prestigious west side. For years he grew highly sought-after grapes for some of Paso’s iconic wineries, Saxum and L’Aventure, to name-drop a couple. Intrigued, Eric became fascinated by the winemaking process and wanted to learn how to make his own top-tier wine. He became so relentless in bugging his winemaker friends that he earned the nickname badger. One of the friends he badgered was the winery that abutted his property to the north owned by Stephan Asseo, the owner of the famed L’Aventure Wine. So relentless was Eric about learning how to make world-class wine that Stephan told him to give him a ride to the dentist, and they would discuss it. On the ride, Eric was full of questions to the point that Stephan told him if he wanted to learn his way of making great wine, come the next day to his winery with an absurd amount of money. Thinking that was the last he would see of his pesky neighbor, imagine his surprise to see Eric the next day with all that money, his life savings. Stephan refused the money, saying that it was a test to see if Eric was genuinely committed to learning the art of fine winemaking. The two became best friends, and whenever Stephan called Eric, he addressed himself as his favorite neighbor.

Booker wines were first released in 2005 with fantastic reviews from critics and consumers alike. An instant cult classic that came with a classic cult price. In 2006 Eric introduced a new project, My Favorite Neighbor, which began as an homage to his original favorite neighbor, Stephan Asseo of L’Aventure, and has since grown to include a handful of other neighbors that surround the Booker Winery on Paso Robles’ west side. These neighbors own A+ vineyards emphasizing organic, bio-dynamic, and sustainable farming methods. These long-time friends/growers are overseen by Hilary Graves, Booker’s Vineyard and Grower Relations Manager, who was just awarded by the San Louis Obispo County Wine Industry as Wine Grape Grower of the Year. Although all the contracted grapes are certified as sustainably grown, her goal is to complete the process for all to be certified organically grown.

The 2020 My Favorite Neighbor was just released and was just submitted for reviews which won't be out till March. If history is any indication, it should do well, especially by Jeb Dunnuck.



As I’ve commented in the past, the wines from Eric Jensen at Booker are some of the most impressive releases coming out of California. While in the past, they relied on pure fruit and texture to impress, today, they possess layered, elegant, and complex characters paired with serious depth, richness, and structure. Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate

2019      Robert Parker 96pts       Jeb Dunnuck 95pts

2018     Jeb Dunnuck 96pts         Robert Parker 95pts

2017      Robert Parker 94pts

A homage to Stephan Asseo of L’Aventure Winery became an obsession. Sourced from exceptional vineyard sites around Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, and south to Edna Valley, this wine is cultivated meticulously by the farmers who have become My Favorite Neighbors. With their dedication to the land, we are able to craft a world-class wine without any shortcuts or compromises. Welcome to our Neighborhood. 2020 abundant winter rain and a long, moderate growing season allowed for extended hang times and exceptional fruit quality.

The 2020 My Favorite Neighbor features a complex nose of red cherry, currant, and raspberry, along with wild herbs, violets, and just a hint of toasted marshmallow. On the palate, generous flavors of black cherry, ripe plum, and fig compote are joined by notes of medium roast coffee and creme brulee. The extremely long and mineral finish is characterized by a hefty structure and luxurious, silky tannins.

My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petite Sirah, 8% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Syrah

Fortunately, the smoke issues that plagued many of San Luis Obispo’s northern neighbors in 2020 mostly didn’t visit the growers here. A majority of the smoke from fires in Monterey in the third week of August stayed high, causing haze but not settling down to affect the grapes. And, that smoke, which was quite quickly blown away by coastal winds, was from relatively far away and more than 24 hours old, thus not “fresh” and less impactful on the fruit. A number of producers told me that testing revealed no smoke taint on their wines. I’m looking forward to checking the red wines out this coming fall and winter. Josh Reynolds, Vinous

My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon 2020  

Tim and I tried this wine without any expectations. We knew it came from the winemaker and facilities at Booker Vineyards, so we were excited. When we first opened the wine, we could tell it was very tight and compact. I pulled it from our temperature-controlled wine room, so it was on the cool side. We swirled and swirled, cupping the wine in our hands, and the wine started to bloom out of the glass: dark berry fruit, cherry cordial, cassis, and violets with a rustic aspect. After 30 minutes, the wine took on more heft, more middle palate, and richer fruit with some coffee mocha flavors. The wine needs to breathe, better yet decanted, or even better yet, and it needs to lie down for a year or two. I wanted to try the wine one last time before I left for the evening, but Tim beat me to the bottle, and took it home for the evening. The wine is meant for collectors to appreciate this under $30 bottle of wine that easily competes with $70 Napa Cabs. What I suggest doing is to buy the three bottles, try one now after you have decanted it for an hour, give another one to your neighbor that you are on good speaking terms with, and lay the other one down for a couple of years to be rewarded for your brilliance. Inventory is limited to 30 six-packs.

Regular Price: $66.99

*Sale price is on 3 or more bottles

Wine is packed in a 6-bottle case