2014 Counoise
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The 2014 Tablas Creek Vineyard Counoise is Tablas Creek’s fifth varietal bottling of this traditional blending grape from the Southern Rhone. The Counoise grape has an unusual combination of lush blue and purple fruit (blueberries and cranberries), sweet spice (nutmeg and cinnamon), light-to-medium body, bright acidity, ruby color, and soft tannin.
Tasting Notes
The 2014 Counoise shows a garnet hue, with a high-toned nose of pomegranate, shiso, red raspberry, mulling spices and orange peel. The mouth is tangy, medium-bodied, with cran-raspberry juiciness elevated further by brambly spice and refreshing acidity on the finish. Drink this wine now and for the next five years.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Adelaida District Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 12.7% Alcohol by Volume
- 337 Cases Produced
Blend
- 100% Counoise
Recipes & Pairings
Recipe Suggestions
Food Pairings
- Roast pork loin
- Veal
- Roasted Chicken
- Spicy sausages
Production Notes
Our Counoise grapes were grown on our certified organic estate vineyard. We typically use all this Counoise in our Esprit de Beaucastel and Côtes de Tablas wines. However, in years when Counoise spends an unusually long time on the vine, it achieves enough concentration to balance its exuberant fruit, spice and acidity.
The 2014 vintage was our third consecutive drought year and saw our earliest-ever beginning to the growing season. The summer was warm but without serious heat spikes, and our coolest August in a decade slowed ripening at a critical period. When it warmed back up in September, the fruit tumbled in, and we finished in mid-October, about two weeks earlier than normal. The result was a vintage with excellent concentration balanced by good freshness, which should be vibrant and powerful young, but with the balance to age. The Counoise was harvested between September 11th and October 1st.
The Counoise grapes were destemmed and fermented in closed-top stainless steel fermenters using only native yeasts. After two weeks, the grapes were is pressed and moved to small neutral French oak barrels, where the wine was aged until it was bottled in April 2016.