2006 Antithesis Chardonnay
The 2006 Tablas Creek Vineyard Antithesis Chardonnay is Tablas Creek’s seventh bottling of this traditional Burgundian varietal. In the early 1990s, we imported all our Rhone varietal cuttings from France. At the same time, at the request of a Sonoma winery, we imported the highly regarded small-berry, low-vigor Chardonnay clone named “La Vineuse” and planted 1.5 acres to produce a small amount of bud wood for sale. Three years later, we got our first small crop of Chardonnay.
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2006 Antithesis Chardonnay included in March 08 VINsider Shipment
The 2006 Antithesis Chardonnay, rated 91-93 points by Robert Parker, is available exclusively to Tablas Creek Vineyard's VINsider club members. One bottle is included in the March 2008 club shipment, with limited availability to reorder.
We have more information on the VINsider wine club, and more information on VINsider club news.
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Wine Advocate (June 2008)
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Wine Advocate (Aug. 2007)
Tasting Notes
The 2006 Antithesis is intensely Chardonnay in character: pale gold in color, with a nose of lemon, pear, and mineral, a rich palate of spiced pear, citrus and butter, balanced by fresh acidity and a long, clean finish.
Updated tasting notes from a January 2016 vertical tasting can be found on the Tablas Creek blog.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 13.6% Alcohol by Volume
- 350 Cases Produced
Blend
- 100% Chardonnay
Recipes & Pairings
Recipe Suggestions
Food Pairings
- Chicken in cream sauce
- Light-fleshed fish
- Baked scallops
- Lobster with butter sauce
Production Notes
After tasting the grapes, we thought them so compelling that we made the “Antithesis” Chardonnay our first non-Rhone bottling, as well as our first single-varietal wine. We have continued to produce a small amount each year since.
Our Chardonnay grapes were grown on our 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard.
Chardonnay thrives in our chalky clay soils (much like those of Burgundy), and the cool nights in Paso Robles serve to balance the warm, sunny days. We chose a terraced north-east facing block above our grapevine nursery for the Chardonnay.
The 2006 vintage was a study of contrasts, with a cold, wet start, a very hot early summer, a cool late summer and a warm, beautiful fall. Ample rainfall in late winter gave the grapevines ample groundwater, and produced relatively generous crop sizes. The relatively cool late-season temperatures resulted in a delayed but unhurried harvest, wines with lower than normal alcohols, strong varietal character, and good acids. The Chardonnay, as usual our earliest-ripening varietal, was harvested in one day on September 14th.
The Chardonnay grapes were whole cluster pressed, and fermented using native yeasts in a mix of neutral oak and stainless steel barrels to preserve the wine's varietal and mineral character. The wine went through full malolactic fermentation in barrel. It was bottled in July 2007.