Wine Advocate (Aug. 2004)

HOW IS IT DRINKING?
Vintage Chart

The 2003 Tablas Creek Vineyard Picpoul Blanc (also known as Piquepoul or Piquepoul Blanc in France) is Tablas Creek's first bottling of this traditional Southern Rhone varietal, used in Chateauneuf du Pape as a blending component, and best known from the crisp light green wines of the Pinet Region in the Coteaux de Languedoc. Literally translating to "lip stinger", in France the grape is known for its bright acidity, its minerality, and a clean lemony flavor. We have found that in California, it maintains its bright acidity, but also develops an appealing tropical lushness.

Picpoul Blanc was the first supplementary varietal we brought into the country after the initial eight varietals. It went into quarantine in 1996, and was released in 1998. The first vines went into the ground in 2000. We have about an acre of Picpoul planted, and plan to increase the acreage slightly.

The 2003 vintage was tremendous: warm and sunny, with cool nights that prolonged the hangtime of the grapes and led to wines with excellent acidity. A relatively early flowering, combined with a warm but not overly hot summer produced unusually long hangtime, and grapes with concentrated flavors and a distinct minerality. The Picpoul was harvested in one day on October 22.

The Picpoul grapes were whole cluster pressed, and fermented using native yeasts in neutral barrels to complement the grapes' minerality with a bit of roundness. The wine was bottled in April 2004.

The 2003 Picpoul shows a rich nose of pear, pineapple and spice. In the mouth, buttery flavors of pineapple and orange are balanced by crisp acids, and the long, rich finish shows flavors of pina colada.