Beverage of the Week (BOW)
Tablas Creek Esprit de Tablas Blanc Adelaida District 2017
Product Story
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.
Brand Story
Tablas Creek is a unique animal on the California wine scene. They are unquestioned pioneers in the movement of Rhône-styled wines in California and many consider them to be the absolute best-in-class. While many wineries in California make wines with classic Rhône varietals, Tablas Creek makes wines with the heart and soul of the Rhône. They were founded in 1989 by a collaboration between two iconic wine families – the Perin family of Chateau de Beaucastel and the Haas family of Vineyard Brands. Together they chose vineyard locations in Paso Robles, imported vine cuttings from the Rhône, and built vineyards and a winery from the dirt up. Their vineyard site in the Adelaida District of Paso Robles is a close match to climatic conditions and soils found at Chateau de Beaucastel. Their wines are not at all typically Californian in style. While they are not clones of Rhône wines, they are rather a unique expression of Paso Robles fruit grown at elevation with the winemaking touch of an old Rhône master. The resulting wines are filled with personality, never compromised, and frequently world-class.
Tasting Note
Brilliant, medium gold/green color. The aromatics are very intense offering scents of wild flowers, honey, and kiwi with supporting notes of citrus zest, jasmine, and green tea. 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. Medium to full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a rich but vibrant texture.
How to Serve
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.
Price: $ 45
BevX Review: http://bevx.com/wine-detail/?id=3938
