We tasted last week (10/18/17) the new TablasCreek release:
7. TablasCreek Cotes de Tablas Blanc Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (13.0%; EB; 43% Viog/40% GrenacheBlanc/
14% Marsanne/3% Roussanne) 2016: Light gold color; very perfumed/aromatic ripe peach/pear/Viog/floral/
carnations lovely nose; bit soft very floral/fruit forward/peach/pear/Viog/spicy lush/ripe lovely flavor;
very long lush/ripe floral/Viog/peach/pear/spicy finish; lots of forward ripe/floral fruit; speaks
strongly of Viog w/o straying into DollyParton territory; lovely whiteRhone at a great price. $24.00 (VIN)
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TablasCreek Grenache Blanc Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (14.0%; EB) 2016: Light gold color; very strong
appley/pear/GB/floral/honeysuckle light stony/mineral/valve oilmore complex/GB nose; fairly tart/tangy/
bit citric strong apple/pear/honeysuckle/GB light stony/chalky lovely flavor; very long/lingering slightly
tart floral/apple/pear/GB/honeysuckle/valve oil light stony/mineral/chalky finish; a lovely rather
restrained/elegant expression of GB at a great price. $24.00 (VIN)
8a. TablasCreekVnyds Viognier AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (12.9%; SS frmt; www.TablasCreek.com) 2016: Light gold
color; very fragrant floral/Viog/ripe pear/peach/gardenia/spicy light mineral/chalky lovely elegant Viog
nose; lightly tart ripe pear/Viog/peach/bit Mosel valve oil some floral/gardenia light chalky/perfumed talc/
spicy balanced/elegant flavor; very long/lingering spicy/ripe pear/Viog/peach/floral light chalky/
perfumed talc finish; quite a perfumed/elegant Viog that stays far away from classic DollyParton/PR or
Alban Viog; reminds lots like a good Viog from CollinesRhodannies; a lovely rendition of Calif Viog. $35.00
8b. TablasCreekVnyd Roussanne Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (13.4%) 2015: Light gold color; very perfumed/
aromatic Roussanne/floral/honeysuckle/honeyed/spicy/nutmeg light earthy/stony slight nutty/Rghonish/smokey
rather complex/elegant beautiful nose; lightly tart/tangy very floral/Rouss/honeysuckle/nutmeg rather rich/
lush structured slight pencilly/oak beautiful flavor; very long/lingering rich/lush/mouthfilling quite
floral/honeysuckle/Rouss/spicy/nutmeg balanced/elegant bit chalky/perfumed talc slight herbal some complex
finish; should go out 10 yrs at least; way far away from DollyParton territory; one of the best TCV
Rouss yet; terrific Rouss at a great price. $28.00
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TablasCreek Esprit Blanc de Tablas Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (13.0%; EB; 55% Roussanne/
28% GrenacheBlanc/17% PicpoulBlanc) 2015: Med.gold color; very perfumed/fragrant very Rouss/honeysuckle/
floral/quite spicy some chalky/mineral some complex very aromatic beautiful nose; fairly tart/tangy chalky/
mineral/perfumed talc structured very strong Rouss/honeysuckle/honeyed light earthy/stony/mineral quite
spicy some complex flavor; very long/lingering strong Rouss/honeysuckle/honeyed/very spicy/floral/gardenias
some stony/mineral fairly tart/structured complex finish w/ a spicy aftertaste that goes on & on; another
beautiful EspritBlanc that will only get dramatically better. $36.00 (VIN)
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TablasCreekVnyd Patelin de Tablas Rouge PasoRobles (51% Syrah/31% Grenache/14% Mourv/4% Counoise;
14.2%) 2015: Med.dark color; very strong fragrant Grenache/strawberry bit blackberry/Syrah/spicy light
oak bit earthy/dusty very attractive fruit-forward nose; bit soft strong Grenache/strawberry slight
blackberry/Syrah light earthy flavor w/ light smooth/soft tannins; long lush/ripe/soft strong strawberry/
Grenache slight spicy/blackberry/Syrah light earthy finish w/ soft tannins; a bit on the simple side but
quite a good-drinking red Rhone blend that speaks mostly of Grenache and at a great price. $20.50 (VIN)
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TablasCreek Esprit de Tablas Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (13.5%; EB; 40% Mourvedre/28% Syrah/
22% Grenache/10% Counoise) 2013: Med.color; beautiful plummy/Mourv/spicy/blackberry bit earthy very
aromatic Mourv nose; lightly tart ripe/plummy/Mourv slight blackberry/Syrah/spicy light earthy/dusty
balanced bit simple very attractive flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very long/lingering plummy/Mourv/
blackberry/spicy lightly tart balanced bit earthy finish w/ modest smooth/ripe tannins; a very balanced
but understated red that needs age to show how great it can become. $48.00 (VIN)
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TablasCreek Esprit de Tablas Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (14.5%; EB; 49% Mourvedre/21% Syrah/
25% Grenache/5% Counoise) 2015: Med.color; very strong beautiful plummy/Mourv some blackberry/Syrah/very
spicy/bit pungent/peppery ripe/lush quite aromatic nose; bit soft bigger/structured almost flashy very
strong plummy/Mourv/blackberry/Syrah/spicy balanced flavor w/ modest bit hard tannins; very long/lingering
strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/plummy balanced perfumey finish w/ modest smooth tannins; seems a bit more
extracted and bigger, maybe even flashy, and the Syrah seems stronger than the '13; anothe Esprit that will
only be getting better; terrific young Esprit. $44.00 (VIN)
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TablasCreek EnGoblet Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (14.2%; EB; 39% Mourvedre/29% Grenache/18% Syrah/
11% Counoise/3% Tannat) 2015: Med.dark color; very spicy fairly intense plummy/Mourv some blackberry/
boysenberry/Syrah bit smokey/pungent complex nose; bit soft ripe/blackberry/plummy/Mourv/Syrah rather
spicy slight earthy flavor w/ modest smooth tannins; very long/lingering plummy/blackberry/Mourv fairly
rich/lush light earthy/dusty finish w/ some ripe/smooth tannins; seems not as structured and extracted
as previous Goblets but still a very good Mourv. $40.00 (VIN)
More alt-BloodyPulpit stuff:
- Esprit de Tablas Blanc: I’m convinced this is one of the best white Rhone blends being made in Calif.
Upon release, it doesn’t often wow or knock your sox off, but it has a track record of aging very well.
- TCV: I think TCV is making about the finest wines they ever have. They’re atypical of WestSide PasoRobles,
though. They are not the big/bombastic style of Rhones that typically come from that area, where “bigger
is better” is the mantra. They show more restraint and elegance and balance than most. I find them just
more interesting. Their VINsider is one of the few I am a member of and is a really great deal. It gets
you a 25% discount and a pre-release shipment twice a year of the TCV wines. Plus access to some wines
they don’t make available to their distributors. And once a month they have special discounted pricing
on one of their wines that my peeps like to load up on. And once a year, they will offer free shipping
on your VINsider order. JasanHaas has on their WebSite a blog that’s one of the most interesting blogs
in the industry. And did I mention that all the TCV folks can walk on water?? Faster than a speeding
bullet?? More powerful than a locomotive? Able to leap tall bottles in a single bound?? 'Tis true!!
- Esprit de Tablas Rouge: Another wine that is really impressive once it gets some age on it. The '15 struck me as one of the better young Esprits that I can recall. The '13 was not as impressive but may just be
in a slightly dumb stage right now.
At the SantaFe W&C Fiesta this year, DarrenDelmore did a seminar presenting a vertical of the Esprit
de Beaucastel/Tablas back to the original 2003. It was very impressive to see how well these Esprits
do with age on them. Even the '03 was nowhere in danger of expiring.
Tom