Tablas Creek Vineyard

California

Esprit de Tablas

Adelaida District

$70 USD

Release Price

2023-2048

Drink Window

13.5%

ABV

pH

TA

RS

Nose

The nose is deep and inviting, clearly Esprit: new leather, sweet spice, currants and dark chocolate.

Palate

On the palate, broad and rich, with notes of flourless chocolate cake, black plum, meat drippings, and a spicy, nutty mincemeat pie element. The finish is brambly blackberry, black fig, and milk chocolate, with chewy tannins that promise years of meaty development. Immensely appealing now, but also with the structure and intensity to reward time in the cellar.

Growing Conditions

The 2021 vintage came after a chilly, relatively dry winter, the exception being a single storm that dropped more than a foot of rain on us in late January. The cold, dry winter produced a fruit set with smaller clusters and smaller berries, and yields were down about 25% compared to our average. The growing season was ideal, with each hot stretch followed by a cool period that allowed the vines to recover, and that combined with the low yields to produce some of our most intense fruit ever and our highest average acids since the chilly 2011 vintage. We believe that 2021 has all the hallmarks of a blockbuster year.

The grapes for our Esprit de Tablas were grown on our certified organic and biodynamic estate vineyard.

Winemaking

The wine is based on the dark red fruit, earth, spice and mid-palate richness of Mourvèdre, with additions of Grenache for forward fruit, approachability and lushness, Syrah for mineral, aromatics, and back-palate tannins, Counoise for brambly spice and acidity, as well as the dark, herby Vaccarese and the juicy, spicy Cinsaut.

The grapes were fermented using native yeasts in a mix of 1500-gallon wooden upright fermenters, open-top tanks and closed stainless steel fermenters. After pressing, the wines were moved into barrel and allowed to complete malolactic fermentation. The Esprit's components were then selected for Esprit, blended in June 2022 and aged in 1200-gallon foudre before bottling in July 2023.

Food Pairing

- Game
- Dark Fowl (i.e., duck)
- Richly flavored stews
- Lamb
- Asian preparation of red meats (i.e., beef stir fry)

More from this Producer

Tablas Creek VineyardCinsaut

This rare Chateauneuf-du-Pape grape, Cinsaut, is propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate.

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The Tablas Creek Vineyard 2019 Esprit de Tablas Blanc is our flagship white blend, chosen from the top lots of four estate-grown varietals propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate. Roussanne provides the core richness, minerality, and flavors of honey and spice, while Grenache Blanc adds green apple and anise flavors, a lush mouthfeel and bright acids. Picpoul Blanc adds pineapple brightness and saline minerality while Picardan brings elegance.

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The Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas Rosé is a rosé blend in the tradition of Provence, produced from three red Rhône varietals: Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Counoise. The wine incorporates fruit from five top Rhône vineyards in Paso Robles, each vineyard selected for its quality. Like most rosé wines from the Rhône Valley, it is based on the bright strawberry fruit and fresh acidity of Grenache, with additions of deeper red fruit and structure from Mourvèdre and spice from Counoise.

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The Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas is a Paso Robles take on a classic Rhône blend: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Counoise, with a small addition of the dark, smoky Tannat grape. The wine incorporates fruit from several of the top Rhône vineyards in Paso Robles, each vineyard selected for its quality. Like many red wines from the Rhône Valley, it is based on the dark fruit, mineral and spice of Syrah. To that Syrah, we incorporate the brightness and fresh acidity of Grenache, the structure and meatiness of Mourvèdre, the dark smokiness and firm structure of Tannat, and a small addition of Counoise for complexity.

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The Tablas Creek Vineyard Côtes de Tablas is a blend of four estate-grown Rhône varietals: Grenache, Syrah, Counoise and Mourvedre. Like most wines of the Southern Rhône, it showcases Grenache, featuring that grape's characteristic generous fruit and refreshing acidity, balanced by the spice and mineral of Syrah, the appealing briary wildness of Counoise and the structure of Mourvèdre.

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The 2020 Tablas Creek Vineyard Roussanne is Tablas Creek’s twentieth varietal bottling of our most important white grape. The Roussanne we got in 2020 was powerfully characteristic of the Roussanne grape, and we highlighted its balance of richness and freshness by selecting lots from large foudres, small barriques, and mid-size demi-muids.

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