Reviews

Wine Advocate (Aug. 2007)
Forbes (Apr. 2007)
Gang of Pour (Nov. 2006)
Stephen Tanzer (Sep. 2006)
Wine Advocate (Aug. 2006)

In exceptional vintages, Tablas Creek Vineyard produces small quantities of Panoplie: a Mourvèdre-based cuvee from meticulously selected grapes, made in the model of Château de Beaucastel's Hommage á Jacques Perrin. In 2004, only 280 cases were produced.

The 2004 vintage was excellent, with a very early spring balanced by a long, warm (but rarely hot) summer. The extended ripening cycle gave the grapes intense aromatics, pronounced minerality, good acids, and good structure. Our first lots of Syrah came in on September 3rd, followed by Grenache on September 17th. An early onset of the fall rains on October 14th stopped harvest for a short time, but two weeks of sunny, cool, and breezy temperatures allowed us to harvest most of the rest of the Mourvedre between October 23rd and 25th. A final lot of Mourvedre, harvested on November 18th (our latest harvest ever) completed the 2004 vintage.

As with all our wines, the grapes for our Panoplie were grown on our 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard.

The grapes were fermented using native yeasts in open and closed stainless steel fermenters. After pressing, the wines were moved into barrel, blended, and aged in large-format French oak demi-muids before being bottled in July, 2006.

The Tablas Creek Vineyard Panoplie 2004 is a barrel selection of the most intense lots of Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Syrah, all estate-grown varietals propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate.

The 2004 Panoplie is a dense purple-red in color. It has a rich plum nose, ripe and sweet with coffee and eucalyptus notes. The complex palate shows full flavors of red and black fruit, pepper, and roasted meat. It is concentrated, dense and elegant with a wonderfully long licorice and spice finish.

Updated tasting notes from a December 2009 vertical tasting can be found on the Tablas Creek blog.