When I visited the offsite the other day to pull an old(er) Rivers-Marie for the virtual tasting, I figured I’d make it worth my while and pull a few other gems. Here’s one!
Wow, sure thought I might have let this one sit in the cellar too long - nope! Really dark purple, with absolutely no sign of bricking whatsoever. Day 1 the nose offers a fair amount of barnyard funk, which typically turns me off right away, but there’s also that classic peircing Tablas Creek fruit behind it. On the plate the wine is smooth and polished, with great acidity and fine yet firm tannins. Day 2 the funk is still there but significantly reduced, revealing a lovely core of black fruit, with dry sage, bramble, and violets. A lovely wine over all. I think I have one or two more in the cellar, and I think another 5 years or more is in order.
The cork is surely a testament to proper cellaring, the label a testament to why you shouldn’t use tight metal racking 
. I’ve owned and cellared this bottle since release
Yup, Eric…welcome to the wonderful world of aged/mature TCV Esprit. Now called Esprit de Tablas, standing on their own reputation rather than lean on the prestige of the Beaucastel name. Both the EdT/EdB Blanc and Rouge age extremely well. They’re not particularly dramatic nor blockbuster wines on release, maybe a bit underwhelming, but their balance is what carries them out into beautiful mature wines.
Tom
Always appreciate your insight Tom. The name change is great, they deserve to stand on their own. Totally agreed on the balance comment, it’s what makes this wine.
I have a '99 Reserve Cuvee standing up - wondering now if I should just let it sleep a little longer…
Boy, I haven’t had one of those in a long, long time. I remember very much enjoying them. Glad to see they hold up so well.
The best CARhone producer going, imo. Awesome wine! drink that '99 now. It was in a beautiful place when I had it at least a couple years ago — pretty sure it was more in the past than that, however.
thanks Brian, I’ll crack that '99 sooner than later and follow up with another note on here when I do
amazing that you didnt drink them all earlier. It’s just a guideline, but CT drinking window ended in 2013. Tom offers great insight on the maturation of this wine.
You know, I checked my TNs — I had it way back in 2010 and thought it was slightly on its downside at that time. Very curious to hear how your bottle shows! … for my part, I have a few Panoplies that now have 10+ years on them …
These guys simply know what they are doing. The majority of their wines last the test of time. Drinking windows are always tricky - and adding in bottle variation makes them even more so.
These wines, of course, won’t appeal to all folks. They tend to be more subtle and demure - not something everyone is looking for. Therefore, YMMV . . .
Cheers
Vintage dependent too, but when they do make it out the other side they are wonderful.