The Data

Country   USA

Appellation   Adelaida District

Varietal   Mourvedre

Retail Price   $45

ABV   13%

Score   4.5 Stars/95 points

In the Glass

Brilliant, deep ruby color.

The aromatics are very intense offering scents of black plum and leather with supporting notes of black tea, boysenberry, and smoked meats.

The palate echoes the nose delivering a black fruit-driven core with flavors of black currant, raspberry, five spice, and mineral. The finish is long and lingering with fine, chalky tannins.

Full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a opulent texture with endless layers of fruit and spice.

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 — among them a lovely varietal, Mourvedre. What could be cooler?

Value Grade

At $40 a bottle it's not a bargain hunter's Rhône Ranger of choice but this is one of the most delicious varietal Mourvedre wines that we have experienced. Just 640 cases made.

Analysis

The 2018 Tablas Creek Vineyard Mourvédre is Tablas Creek’s 15th varietal bottling of Mourvedre and it is our favorite thus far. Tablas Creek uses a majority of their Mourvedre in their great Esprit de Tablas but luckily they reserve a bit for this single varietal bottling. While 2017 was a wet year (the most January rain ever at Tablas Creek) 2018 was much drier. A late bud-break was followed by cool temperatures that gave way to a six-week heat wave in July and August. All of the grapes for this wine were grown in Tablas Creek's certified organic and biodynamic estate vineyard. The fruit was destemmed and fermented with native yeasts in large wooden vessels and then fermentation was completed in 1200-gallon foudres. The various Mourvedre lots were blended in spring 2019 and then aged another year in foudres before being bottled in May 2020.

How to Enjoy

Drink now or hold for a decade or more in the cellar. This nicely balanced and complex wine is great at the table pairing well with grilled marinated pork, game stews, or even bittersweet chocolate.