Tablas Creek Esprit de Tablas Blanc Adelaida District 2017

The Data

Country USA

Appellation Adelaida District

Varietal White Blend

Retail Price $45

ABV 13%

Score 4.5 Stars/94 points

In the Glass

Appearance

Brilliant, medium gold/green color.

Aromatics

The aromatics are very intense offering scents of wild flowers, honey, and kiwi with supporting notes of citrus zest, jasmine, and green tea.

Flavor

The palate echoes the nose delivering a ripe orchard fruits-driven core with flavors of white peach, citrus zest, apricot stone, and a bees wax note on the finish that mingles with oak. The finish is long and lingering.

Intensity & Texture

Medium to full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a rich but vibrant texture.

Cool Factor

Tablas Creek is a unique winery in California seamlessly marrying Old World and New World winemaking and setting the standard for Rhône varietals in California. What could be cooler?

Value Grade

At $45 a bottle it's certainly beyond many wine drinkers weeknight budget but considering the pedigree and the fact that this wine will age very gracefully we recommend it.

Analysis

The Esprit de Tablas is Tablas Creek's top-tiered white Rhône blend. It's made with a blend of 68% Roussanne, 17% Grenache Blanc, 7% Picpoul Blanc, 4% Picardan, and 4% Clairette Blanche. The grapes for this wine were grown in their certified organic and bio-dynamic estate vineyard. The five varietals were all fermented separately in a variety of vessels from neutral oak barrels to foudres (large wooden vessels), and stainless steel. The best lots are blended and then rested in a foudre for an additional eight months. The resulting wine is a serious, multilayered wine with complex fruit flavors and just a hint of oak.

How to Enjoy

If you choose to drink this wine in its youth please decant it as this will allow the aromatics to fully bloom. Serve chilled with grilled lobster, roasted duck, confit, or a Basque-style seafood stew.