Nose
A lovely, creamy nose of wildflower honey, sweet baking spices, citrus pith, and briny minerality.
Palate
The mouth is textured and dry, with both the richness and essence of egg custard, flavors of quince and pear, and a long finish with echoing honey, fresh vanilla bean, and limestone mineral notes.
Growing Conditions
The 2019 vintage began with ample rainfall the preceding winter. The wet soils delayed budbreak to a little after normal, and a cool first half of the summer delayed flowering and the ripening of our earlier varieties. Beginning the second week of July, the weather turned warm but never so warm to engage the vines' self-defense mechanism of shutting down, accelerating ripening of our later varieties and producing intense flavors. The resulting compressed harvest was completed under ideal conditions and the vintage shows both concentration and freshness, with bright acids framing ample fruit.
Harvest
The grapes for our Esprit de Tablas Blanc were grown on our certified organic and biodynamic estate vineyard.
Winemaking
Roussanne (63%, fermented in a mix of oak of various sizes and ages) still takes pride of place, but the different higher-acid, more mineral varieties (20% Grenache Blanc, 14% Picpoul Blanc, and 3% Picardan) all add citrusy acidity and saline freshness. As we have done since 2012, we returned the blend to foudre after it was assembled in April 2020.
Aging
Aged from April to next harvest in foudre before bottling it in December 2020 and letting it rest an additional 9 months in bottle before release.
Food Pairing
Cooked shellfish (lobster, softshell crab, shrimp)
Roasted or grilled vegetables (eggplant, asparagus, peppers)
Foods cooked with garlic and olive oil
Rich fish dishes (i.e., salmon, swordfish)
Asian stir fry
