Tablas Creek Vineyard Blog

Tablas Creek wine dinner at Simon Pearce recapped on oenoLogic

One advantage for Tablas Creek is that my parents still spend part of the year in Vermont.  This means that, unlike a lot of California wineries, we get a chance to have a home base outside California in which to build good supporters through regular patronage.

Vermont (at least Southern Vermont, where I grew up and where my parents still spend 5 months a year) is not densely set with culinary gems.  We routinely had to drive 45 minutes to get terrific restaurant meals (which, I guess, puts us in with most of the residents of Los Angeles.  The difference: we were going 45 miles).  One of these great restaurants is Simon Pearce, in Quechee, VT.  They have an unusual combination of factory outlet store (their specialty is high-end rustic blown glass) and top restaurant.  My dad has set up dinners there each of the past three years.  This year's dinner was yesterday.

There is a great account of the dinner, with comments on the wines, by Thor Iverson on his blog oenoLogic.  Thor is a Boston-based wine writer and educator, and has a longer track record with Tablas Creek than most writers.  You can still find online an old column of his in the Boston Phoenix from the late 1990s where he discusses one of our our first efforts, as well several notes on the old wineloverspage.com bulletin boards.  Plus, he's been tasting and commenting on various Tablas Creek wines on oenoLogic for a while now.

I was particularly interested in the description of the 2000 Clos Blanc, which is a wine that has gone through many phases in its seven years of life.  I recently took the Tablas Creek tasting room staff through a vertical tasting of our wines back to 1996, and it was our impression that it's now going through it's awkward Roussanne middle age, although it's still an impressively rich wine.

In any case, if you missed Thor's great (and speedy) recap, check it out.

Vertical Tasting of 1997-2005 Signature White Wines

This January, Neil Collins, Ryan Hebert, Tommy Oldre and I opened up a vertical of our top white wines, from our first vintage in 1997 to the newly released 2005.  We wanted to see where the wines were in their evolution, as well as to see how our style had changed over the years.  We found a remarkably consistent sense of place that came through in all the wines, and some surprising results on some of the oldest wines.

Rhone whites (at least, Rhone whites based on Roussanne and Marsanne) are renowned for aging well, and for going through many distinct stages.  A wine that can seem dead and gone, oxidized and dark, can revive later, lighten in color, and re-emphasize the mineral components of the wines.  Even experts have marveled at the varied life of these Rhone whites.  Robert Parker comments, "They are compelling when first released, then become nearly undrinkable only to re-emerge in the future, but one is never quite sure at what age that will happen. It is one of the mysteries of wine, but it is reassuring to know there are still things the so-called experts cannot explain."

Before this vertical tasting, we had not experienced dramatic life cycles on the white wines.  The wines (particularly the Roussanne-based wines) had aged gracefully, and gone through minor variations of flavor and balance over this period, but we hadn't seen a wine that truly showed as old (oxidized or tired) clean itself back up.  Perhaps we just hadn't waited long enough.

The 1997 Tablas Blanc, from four-year-old vines and predominantly Marsanne (45% Marsanne, 30% Viognier, 25% Roussanne) had tasted very tired the last time we'd tried it, with a sherry-like character and relatively thin body.  Honestly, none of us thought it would recover.  In January, it had come through this stage, and showed a clean, herby nose, with some rhubarb and peach pit.  In the mouth, it showed butterscotch and pear, medium body, with a long finish.  I don't know how much of this is out there, but whatever there is should be a pleasant surprise to anyone who's kept it.

The 1998 Tablas Blanc (50% Roussanne, 25% Marsanne, 25% Viognier) was the product of a cooler vintage than 1997, and for years stood as Francois Perrin's favorite Tablas Creek white. But, at this tasting, it was our least favorite.  It smelled of aged sherry.  The mouth was a little better, with some caramel vying with the mushroom and burnt sugar flavors, but still not a lot of fun.  From the evidence of the 1997, we hope that it will clean up again, but there's nothing to be gained by opening a bottle now.

At first sniff, the 1999 Blanc seemed destined to share the fate of the 1998.  The nose was a mixture of rubbing alcohol, hazelnut, and mint, interesting but not particularly enticing.  In the mouth, however, it showed excellent freshness, with lemony acids and a little sweet oak on the finish.  Tommy commented that he could taste the Vermentino and Grenache Blanc (the label lists the composition as 32% Roussanne, 30% Viognier, 28% Marsanne, 7% Grenache Blanc and 3% Rolle).  What's more, the wine opened up dramatically with a little time in the glass, and the rubbing alcohol blew off, replaced by honey and sweet spice.  If you're opening one now, give it a chance to breathe.

The three oldest vintages provided interesting insight into the aging potential of Rhone whites, but all probably peaked at least a few years ago.  Starting with the 2000, we moved into wines that were meant to age, from older vines and with increasing percentages of Roussanne.  The 2000 Clos Blanc (45% Roussanne, 19% Viognier, 19% Marsanne, and 17% Grenache Blanc) is soft, warm, and inviting, like a comfortable pair of slippers.  The flavors of honey and dried pineapple meld into soft texture, with a lingering impression of sweetness (though the wine is fully dry).  There is just enough acidity to bring out the mineral component.  We're very happy that we still have some of this left. It's gorgeous now, and should drink well for another couple of years at least.

The 2001 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc (which won "Top 100 Wine of the Year" awards from both Wine Enthusiast and Wine & Spirits) showed our efforts to retain a bit more acidity after the soft, voluptuous Clos Blanc. In this frost-reduced vintage, we stopped the malolactic on a portion of the Grenache Blanc and Viognier (the blend is 44% Roussanne, 22% Viognier, 18% Grenache Blanc, and 16% Marsanne). The nose showed brightly, with floral and green pear predominant.  The mouth was vibrant, sweet and round in the mouth, with great lemony acids on the very long finish.  The wine is mature, but still lively, and should drink well for at least a few more years.

The jump in concentration between 2001 and 2002 was as noteworthy in our whites as it was when we did our vertical tasting of the reds last year.  Driven by our increasingly rigorous declassification of certain lots into the Côtes de Tablas, the wine became much more reminiscent of Beaucastel: longer, richer, and more powerful.  The 2002 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc (70% Roussanne, 25% Grenache Blanc, 5% Viognier) showed explosive spice, mint and honey on the nose, with lots of power in the mouth and a little mintiness that lifts up the finish.  This is still broadening out into its considerable structure, and should drink well for 5 more years at least.  This vintage, too, we held some back of, and I know that, after tasting it, I went and bought some more for my own cellar.

The 2003 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc followed closely the plan of the successful 2002 (68% Roussanne, 27% Grenache Blanc, 5% Viognier).  The Grenache Blanc component is a bit more noticeable than in previous vintages, and contributes green apple notes to the nose to complement the Roussanne-driven honey.  In the mouth, a sweet grain character interweaves with honey and spice, but the mineral comes out dominant on the finish.  Our principal impression on this wine is that it is still quite young, and while drinking well now should improve over the next few years and drink well for 6-8 more.

By 2004, we had gotten a little of our Picpoul Blanc into production, and found that its white flower, mineral, and lemon notes proved to be a terrific complement to the Roussanne base of the wine.  We also began to pick our grapes to emphasize the acidity a bit more, confident that the Roussanne's natural richness would be able to handle it.  The resulting 2004 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc (65% Roussanne, 30% Grenache Blanc, 5% Picpoul Blanc) shows remarkably clearly the influence of that Picpoul.  The nose is fresh and bright, with an apple cider and ocean air character that is unlike any of the previous wines.  The mouth is beautifully structured, with mineral throughout and persistent acids that linger on the finish.  The wine, though, is more intellectually satisfying than friendly at the moment, and we'd recommend that anyone with the patience lay it down for a couple of years to let the Roussanne round out to fill its mineral structure.

Finally, the 2005 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc, from a vintage that we believe will go down as perhaps the best ever in Paso Robles, is both elegant and exuberant.  The nose is fresh, with anise, young honey, sweet pear, and wheat.  The mouth is long, with balanced acids, flavors of meringue, honey, loam, and a little bubblegum.  The texture is both rich and mineral, with a persistent saline character that freshens the long finish.  It will certainly round out with time, but is so appealing now that I think it will be hard for people to wait.

Vertical Tasting of 1997-2004 Signature Red Wines

The following article appeared in our February 2006 newsletter, and received so many comments that I thought it would be useful to put up online.  We've always thought our red Rhone blends would age well, but hadn't done a formal vertical tasting in a while.

Before Christmas, Neil Collins, Ryan Hebert, my dad and I opened up a vertical of our top red wines, from our first vintage in 1997 to the newly blended 2004. We wanted to see where the wines were in their evolution, as well as to decide if there was a consistent sense of place. We found some results that we expected (a consistency of style) and others that we didn't (even the oldest wines were tasting young and vibrant).

It was remarkable to us how well even the oldest wines had aged. We had expected the 1997 Rouge, made from three and four-year old vines, to be over the hill. Due to the very hot summer and the early harvest in 1997, the grapes had a short ripening cycle and generally fast fermentations. This led to wines that were early maturing and relatively low in complexity. The intervening years, however, had darkened the wine's flavors and softened its bright fruit. The tannins and acids had held up relatively well, and the wine, while still not complex, was balanced and pleasurable. It probably peaked a couple of years ago, but it is still drinking surprisingly well.

The 1998 vintage year was as different as possible from 1997. We had lots of rain that winter, followed by a cool summer. Harvest started later than ever before (or since) and produced comparatively subtle wines with purple fruit, soft texture, relatively low alcohol, and moderate tannins. The 1998 Rouge then shut down about a year after bottling, and stayed closed for 18 months. Although it is more in the style of our Côtes de Tablas wines than the Esprit de Beaucastels of recent vintages, it is still tasting great. What's more, with its balance and elegance, it has at least a couple of years ahead of it.

There were two noticeable jumps in concentration and overall quality: one between 1998 and 1999, and another between 2001 and 2002. At our December tasting, we found the 1999 Reserve Cuveé to be still quite young and muscular, showing a Syrah-like minerality, red fruit, lots of spice, and a healthy dose of tannin. Although it has reopened after a closed period, it is still a few years from its peak. We'd suggest drinking it between 2007 and 2010.

The 2000 Esprit de Beaucastel is just coming out of its closed period, and was still tight. It was showing very dark: black fruit, earth and funk, and some metal character. We also found a slight spritz on the tongue from trapped CO2; we knew that we had bottled the 2000 reds with relatively high levels of dissolved carbon dioxide. We would recommend, if you are drinking the 2000 Esprit over the next couple of years, that you splash decant it at least an hour before drinking to open up the flavors and release any CO2 present. Otherwise, it should be terrific from 2008-2015.

The 2001 Côtes de Tablas (which we included in the vertical tasting because we did not make an Esprit de Beaucastel in 2001) was for many of us the revelation of the tasting. It is drinking marvelously right now, with ripe purple fruits, lots of spices (allspice and pepper predominant) a silky texture, good acidity, and a long finish. The tannins have evolved beautifully. Drink this now and for the next three or four years.

The jump in concentration between 2001 and 2002 was noteworthy, driven by our increasingly rigorous declassification of lots into the Côtes de Tablas. The resulting 2002 Esprit de Beaucastel (from a warm, consistent vintage) was, when it was released, big, dark, and brooding, with lots of spice, red and black fruit, and full body. The wine appears to be beginning to shut down, with a slight shortness on the finish that was not there six months ago. If you open this now, definitely decant it first. Better yet, let it sit for a few years and expect it to open up starting in 2008 and drink well for a decade.

The newly released 2003 Esprit shows the sunny character we have found in the vintage ever since it came into the cellar. Although it has terrific concentration, its character is dominated by the friendly side of Mourvèdre: cherry and plum fruit, some chocolate, a nice mineral note, and good acidity. The wine's complexity does come out on the finish, and also as the wine has a chance to breathe. It's drinking beautifully now, and we expect it to continue to do so over the next year or 18 months, then to shut down, though perhaps not as long or as hard as the 2002.

Finally, the 2004 Esprit de Beaucastel currently aging in foudre split the difference between the 2002 and the 2003: big, rich, and concentrated, showing both the red fruit component of Mourvèdre and the black fruit component of Syrah. Its tannins are noticeable, although they're buried in fruit. It's clear that this will be a terrific vintage, marrying both power and clarity of flavors.