Tasting the Wines in the Fall 2024 VINsider Wine Club Shipments
July 25, 2024
Each spring and fall, we send out a selection of six wines to the members of our VINsider Wine Club. We have three variants each time: our classic (mixed) selection, which includes reds, whites, and the occasional rose, a white wine selection, and a red wine selection. In many cases, these are wines that only go out to our club. In others, the club gets a first look at wines that may see a later national release. Before each shipment, we reintroduce ourselves to these wines (which, in some cases, we may not have tasted since before bottling) by opening the full lineup and writing the notes that will be included with the club shipments. With Neil in Europe, I sat down yesterday afternoon with Senior Assistant Winemaker Chelsea Franchi and we dove into this fall's collection.
We base each year's fall shipments around the newest releases of the Esprit de Tablas and Esprit de Tablas Blanc, and this fall is no exception. But there's a lot more to these shipments than the Esprits. In our classic (mixed) shipment we have included three varietal wines, two reds and one white, which together dive deep into Grenache. The white is our Grenache Blanc, while the reds are both Grenaches: ours off our estate and a fascinatingly different one from the Santa Lucia Highlands which is the newest wine in our Lignee de Tablas program. Finally, we're including the newest vintage of our small-production En Gobelet blend, selected entirely from our head-trained, dry-farmed vineyard blocks. We think it's one of the most compelling classic shipments we've ever put together, and the additional wines that will go into the red wine and white wine selection shipments are super cool as well. I'm excited to get them in our members' hands soon.
The classic shipment includes six different wines:
2023 GRENACHE BLANC
- Production Notes: The 2023 vintage saw our three-year drought break with a bang, as the winter dropped nearly 50 inches on us. This was followed by our coolest summer since 2011, and we were less than half harvested on the date we finished in 2022. But warm, sunny weather in October and the first half of November gave us time to bring the grapes in in lovely shape. Yields were still low on whites, though much improved over 2022. For the varietal Grenache Blanc, we chose mostly lots fermented in stainless steel (for energy), with a smaller addition from foudre (for roundness). The lots were blended in May 2024 and bottled under screwcap the next month.
- Tasting Notes: A nose of crushed rock and verbena, lemon pith and sarsaparilla. The mouth has Grenache Blanc's signature mouth-filling texture and bright acids, flavors of lemon drop, wet stone, and citrus leaf. Somehow at the same time explosively juicy, creamy, and bright. Drink now and over the next few years.
- Production: 906 cases
- List Price: $40 VINsider Price: $32
2022 ESPRIT DE TABLAS BLANC
- Production Notes: Our third consecutive drought year, 2022 saw yields further reduced by a rare May frost that particularly impacted our whites. You might have expected the hot vintage that followed to produce dense, alcoholic wines, but we found the opposite. Perhaps because the vines were under so much stress, we harvested grapes with bright acids and this lovely ethereal quality. Because of the vintage's scarcity, we ended up using our full production of Roussanne (33%), Picpoul Blanc (14%), Clairette Blanche (8%) and Picardan (8%) in the 2022 Esprit Blanc, and added 32% Grenache Blanc and 5% Bourboulenc to ensure we had both texture and brightness. As we have done since 2012, we returned the blend to foudre after it was assembled in May 2023 and aged it through the subsequent harvest before bottling it in December 2023. We've been letting it deepen in bottle ever since.
- Tasting Notes: A powerful nose of lanolin and honeycomb, lemongrass and orange blossom, like the world's most luxurious antique furniture polish. The palate is lively, rich but still light on its feet, with flavors of vanilla custard, fresh apricot, citrus pith, marmalade, and green herbs. The finish leaves lingering notes of grilled pineapple and green herbs. Drink now to enjoy its freshness or let it age for up to two decades for deeper flavors of caramel and roasted nuts.
- Production: 1812 cases
- List Price: $60 VINsider Price: $48
2022 GRENACHE
- Production Notes: As often happens here, our hottest years produce Grenache with a lovely pale garnet color with expressive high notes. That's perfect for our varietal bottling, where we always try to choose lots that emphasize Grenache's freshness and avoid riper lots that tend toward higher alcohols. The lots were blended in June 2023 and aged in neutral oak until its bottling in February 2024.
- Tasting Notes: A high toned nose of wintergreen and black pepper, cranberry and grenadine. On the palate, bright acids with flavors of plum skin, cherry hard candy, leafy green herbs and sweet spice. There is Grenache's signature youthful tannic grip on the finish, with lingering notes of aromatic bitters. This seems to us a Grenache to drink on the sooner side, probably in the next 4-6 years.
- Production: 872 cases
- List Price: $45 VINsider Price: $36
2022 LIGNÉE DE TABLAS HOOK VINEYARD GRENACHE
- Production Notes: Lignée is French for "lineage" and the Lignée de Tablas Hook Vineyard Grenache is our first red release in a new tier of wines that features single-vineyard expressions of Tablas Creek clones. The Hook Vineyard is part of the Hahn property in the Santa Lucia Highlands, about 60 miles northwest of Tablas Creek in Monterey County. The cool, coastal-influenced 122-acre vineyard is mostly planted to Pinot Noir, but also includes 21 acres of Grenache Noir from Tablas Creek clones. The climate, quite different from Paso Robles and on the coolest edge of where Grenache will ripen, leads to very long hang times, dark colors, and thick skins, making this 100% Grenache a fun contrast to our higher-toned expression of the grape. It was fermented in closed stainless steel fermenters to preserve its tension, then aged in large, neutral upright French oak fermenters for a year before being bottled in April 2024.
- Tasting Notes: Deeper in both color and tone than our estate Grenache, with notes of dates and black pepper, balsamic glaze and cassis, brown butter and mountain sage. On the palate, black cherry and new leather, and a lovely umami teriyaki/soy depth. The finish shows baked warm earth, beef jerky, and dark chocolate. Drink now and over the next decade.
- Production: 1088 cases
- List Price: $40 VINsider Price: $32
2022 EN GOBELET
- Production Notes: Our fifteenth En Gobelet, a non-traditional blend all from head-trained, dry-farmed blocks, and mostly from the 12-acre block we call Scruffy Hill, planted in 2005 and 2006 to be a self-sufficient field blend. These lots tend to show more elegance and minerality than our closer-spaced irrigated blocks, although in 2022 the wine shows a lovely balance of power and freshness. We chose a blend of 43% Grenache, 27% Mourvedre, 18% Syrah, 6% Counoise, and 6% Tannat, with the Grenache and Counoise providing lift, the Syrah and Tannat providing structure and tannin, and the Mourvedre earth, loam, and ageworthiness. The wine was blended in June of 2023, aged in foudre, and bottled in April 2024.
- Tasting Notes: A vibrant nose of spearmint and wild strawberry, loamy earth and iron, fresh fig and star anise. The palate is gorgeous, with a pure beam of red raspberry and redcurrant fruit given structure with a graphite-like minerality and deepened by a butter shortbread richness. Lovely now, but should also evolve and deepen for up to two decades.
- Production: 811 cases
- List Price: $65 VINsider Price: $52
2022 ESPRIT DE TABLAS
- Production Notes: As always, the Esprit is based on the red fruit and meatiness of Mourvedre (40%). The relatively equal proportions of Grenache (28%, for sweet spice and bright acids) and Syrah (22%, for dark color and savory, tannic richness) are a good indicator of the vintage's overall balance and quality. We finished the blend with 4% Vaccarese (for black fruit and minerality) and 3% each Cinsaut (for warm purple fruit and sweet spice) and Counoise (for vibrancy and wildness). At blending, we found it expressive, with a lithe energy that we thought would broaden into lovely depth and richness over time. The blend was put together in June 2023 and aged a year in foudre before bottling in August 2024.
- Tasting Notes: The nose is expressive, clearly Esprit: seemingly equally balanced between red and black fruit, with notes of black raspberry and mint, graphite, new leather, and sandalwood. The mouth is like a mixed berry crumble, complete with the warm baking spices and the buttery, toasty, salty crust. Plum skin-like tannins come out on the finish and promise years of meaty development. Enjoy any time in the next 25 years.
- Production: 2925 cases
- List Price: $70 VINsider Price: $56
Three additional wines joined the Grenache Blanc and Esprit de Tablas Blanc in the white wine selection shipment (members will get two bottles of the Esprit Blanc):
2023 LIGNÉE DE TABLAS ZACA MESA GRENACHE BLANC
- Production Notes: For the second Grenache Blanc in our Lignée de Tablas series, in 2023 we were able to source grapes from the Zaca Mesa vineyard roughly 70 miles southwest of Tablas Creek in the Santa Ynez Valley AVA. Santa Barbara County Grenache Blanc has a distinctive almost Sauvignon Blanc-like white grapefruit character that we've always loved, and the Zaca Mesa vineyard was one of the first vineyards there to source grapevines from us. This 100% Grenache Blanc was fermented in stainless steel and bottled in May 2024 under screwcap to preserve it at maximum freshness.
- Tasting Notes: A nose of fresh lychee, oyster shell, anise, mint, and honeydew melon. On the palate, more honeydew melon, crushed rock, white grapefruit, and sweet spice, with Grenache Blanc's signature mouth-filling texture. Drink now and over the next few years.
- Production: 208 cases
- List Price: $35 VINsider Price: $28
2023 PICPOUL BLANC
- Production Notes: For the first time in six years we were able to include our Picpoul Blanc in a wine club shipment. This 2023 is our fifteenth varietal bottling of this traditional Southern Rhône white grape, used in Châteauneuf du Pape as a blending component, and best known from the crisp light green wines of the Pinet region in the Languedoc. On its own, it shows the vibrant acids for which it is valued, along with a tropical lushness from the generous Paso Robles climate that gives it complexity you'd never see in its homeland. We use the majority of our production for our Esprit de Tablas Blanc, while reserving a small quantity for this varietal bottling. The lots selected for the Picpoul Blanc bottling were a roughly equal mix of neutral-oak and stainless steel lots, blended in March 2024 and bottled in June 2024.
- Tasting Notes: A nose of fresh pineapple and sea spray, mint, and orange oil. The palate is like a dry version of a piña colada, from the pineappley brightness to a creamy richness reminiscent of coconut. The finish is clean, vibrant, and delineated, with a lingering mineral petrichor note that keeps the final impression clean and bright. Drink now and over the next few years.
- Production: 181 cases
- List Price: $40 VINsider Price: $32
2023 BOURBOULENC
- Production Notes: Our fifth-ever bottling of Bourboulenc and one of the only ones outside of the Rhone. Bourboulenc is known in France to make wines with bright acids, fresh fruit aromatics, rich texture, and a distinctive nutty character. In just a few years, it's become a favorite here. Most of what was chosen for our varietal Bourboulenc was fermented this year in a single concrete egg. That was supplemented by about 15% from a stainless steel-fermented lot for a little extra brightness. It was bottled in June 2024.
- Tasting Notes: A nose of fresh almond and kiwi, lime leaf, mandarin orange, and white tea. On the palate, richly textured but still bright, with flavors of marmalade and citrus blossom, marzipan and Meyer lemon meringue. The finish shows lemon drop and chalky mineral notes and a pithy textural bite. Our experience aging Bourboulenc is limited, but we plan to drink ours over the next few years.
- Production: 180 cases
- List Price: $40 VINsider Price: $32
Two additional reds joined the Grenache, Lignée Hook Vineyard Grenache, En Gobelet and 2022 Esprit de Tablas in the red wine selection shipment:
2022 FULL CIRCLE
- Production Notes: The thirteenth vintage of our Full Circle Pinot Noir, grown on the small vineyard outside the Haas family's home in Templeton, in the cool (for Paso) Templeton Gap AVA. Its name reflects Robert Haas's career: from a start introducing America to the greatness of Burgundy, through decades focusing on grapes from the Rhone, one of his last acts was to plant Pinot at his home and oversee our first few vintages. Harvested before the early-September heat wave that defined the 2022 vintage, the grapes were fermented in one-ton microfermenters, two-thirds de-stemmed and one-third with stems for a more savory profile, punched down twice daily by hand. After pressing, the wine was moved into a mix of one-year-old and two-year-old Marcel Cadet 60-gallon barrels, for a hint of oak. The wine stayed on its lees, stirred occasionally, for 10 months, before being blended and bottled in August 2023. We've aged the wine in bottle for an additional year since then.
- Tasting Notes: An appealing nose of maraschino cherry, cola, cedar, fennel, and Chinese five spice. The palate is classic Pinot Noir: red cherry, salted caramel, sarsaparilla, and a little hint of sweet oak. The finish shows sweet baking spices and chalky tannins. Drink now and over the next decade.
- Production: 251 cases
- List Price: $55 VINsider Price: $44
2018 ESPRIT DE TABLAS
- Production Notes: When possible we try to offer interesting contrasts between related wines. With this library vintage of Esprit, we give VINsiders a chance to compare two drought vintages whose challenges we navigated by focusing on lots with freshness. The 2018 Esprit is based as always on Mourvedre (40%), and in this vintage noteworthy for its lift and minerality we found that the darkness and density provided by Syrah (27%) was essential and we needed a little less of the bright spiciness of Grenache (23%). Counoise (10%) rounds out the blend with brambly notes and sweet spice. The wine was bottled in July 2020 and has been aging in our cellars since then.
- Tasting Notes: An inviting nose of blackcurrant and cinnamon, rosemary, chocolate, and a mineral iodine note. The palate is lovely, with flavors of Mexican hot chocolate, cherry fruit leather, saddle leather, and a licorice note that is brightened on the finish with tangy plum skin acids. It's lovely now and still youthful; enjoy it any time over the next two decades.
- Production: 4325 cases
- Library Price: $80 VINsider Price: $64
The tasting was a great way to hone in on the character of our two most recent vintages. 2022 is a vintage that shows outstanding vibrancy: clear, delineated flavors and bright acids, with plenty of fruit to back it up. 2023 is remarkable year unlike any we've seen in more than a decade and likely to be even rarer in the future: a cool vintage with a delayed but unhurried harvest that produced wines with intense flavors, vibrant acids, and uncommon depth. Both seem like they'll offer pleasure whether people drink the wines soon or wait. We can't wait to find out what our members think.
If you're a wine club member, we've got a range of options for you to try these wines. We are planning to host a live in-person pickup party on Sunday, October 20th. Neil, Chelsea, and I will be hosting another virtual pickup party the evening of Friday, October 25th. And we'll again be offering club members who visit the opportunity to choose the shipment wines as their tasting flight between mid-September and early-October. Consider this a "save the date"; we will be putting details on all this on our VINsider News & Updates page and announcing them via email soon.
If you're not a wine club member, and you've read all this way, then why not join us while there's still a chance to get this fall shipment? Details and how to join are at tablascreek.com/wine_club/vinsider_club