The Data

Country   USA

Appellation   Adelaida District

Varietal   White Blend

Retail Price   $30

ABV   13%

Score   4.5 Stars/94 points

In the Glass

Brilliant, medium green/gold color.

The nose is moderately intense offering scents of nectarine, straw, and green melon with supporting notes of chamomile, citrus zest, fresh herbs, and green apple.

The palate confirms the nose delivering a ripe orchard fruits-driven core with flavors of white peach, quince, orange peel, and slate. The finish is long and lingering.

Medium-bodied and perfectly balanced with a 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

This beautiful Viognier-forward white is wonderfully complex and absolutely unique delivering Paso Robles fruit with a Rhône winemaking sensibility.

Analysis

This complex and substantial white is made of a blend of: 44% Viognier, 29% Marsanne, 19% Grenache Blanc, and 8% Roussanne. This wine was among a trio of 2019 whites from Tablas Creek that we tasted in the fall of 2020. Immediately we were remarking how these wines were the best ever among the winery's white varietals/blends — a very high standard. The grapes for this wine were grown in their certified organic and bio-dynamic estate vineyard. The four varietals utilized in the Côtes de Tablas were whole-cluster pressed and fermented in stainless steel with native yeasts. The wines were racked and blended in May 2020 and then bottled in June 2020. The Côtes de Tablas is drinking beautifully now but it will evolve in the cellar over the next three to five years.

How to Enjoy

As always, all this wine needs is a glass. While we like a bit of bottle age with this wine we love the fresh, vibrant flavors this vintage and we would have a hard time saving a bottle. Pair with steamed mussels, seared scallops, ceviche, or an old-school shrimp cocktail.