In this very cool article, writer Rachel Woods took 32 of the vintage charts we maintain to help fans of Tablas Creek drink their wine at optimum times and ran data analysis to figure out what you can conclude about aging wine. Her article for her site The Wine Nerd has all her conclusions.
We were excited to read Josh Raynolds' annual reviews of our wines on Vinous.com, focusing on the 2017 and 2018 vintages. All 36 wines he tasted received 90+ points, with 24 receiving scores of 93 or higher.
Highlights from current releases included the 2017 Esprit de Tablas (93-94 points), 2017 Esprit de Tablas Blanc (94 points), 2017 Full Circle (94 points), 2018 Grenache Blanc (93 points), and 2016 Panoplie (95 points). Upcoming releases included 2017 Le Complice (94 points), 2018 Esprit de Tablas Blanc (94-95 points), and 2018 Panoplie (94-96 points).
We have compiled Josh's Tablas Creek reviews together here. You can read his extended article "Paso Robles Can't Stop Winning" at vinous.com.
We love seeing Food & Wine Magazine focus on the Central Coast. In this article, author Jonathan Cristaldi includes our 2017 Cotes de Tablas on his list of 15 can't-miss bottles, along with some of our favorite friends and neighbors.
His description of the Cotes ("Ripe boysenberry, tart cherry, and raspberry fruit is underscored by firm tannins, with hints of leather, tobacco, cedar and marvelous earthy notes like walking through the forest after a rain") is pretty great too!
On Thursday, January 23rd, in front of 180+ members of our great community, we celebrated our Winemaker of 23 years, Neil Collins. Neil was named 2019 Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance Wine Industry Person of the Year for his groundbreaking work here at Tablas Creek, and at his own Lone Madrone Winery and Bristol's Cider House.
Highlights included an introductory speech from industry legend (and the guy who gave Neil his first job in the business) Ken Volk and recognition from our local representatives, including Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin.
We're still on cloud nine. Thank you to everyone who helped us get where we are, came to celebrate with us, and reached out to congratulate Neil.
There's a super interview with our superstar Senior Assistant Winemaker Chelsea Franchi on The Vintner Project, a blog dedicated to telling the stories of the people behind wine. As a follow-up, they also picked our 2017 Esprit de Tablas Blanc as their January 2nd "Wine of the Week"!
Really lovely comments on our 2017 Esprit de Tablas Blanc (#28, 95 points) in Owen Bargreen's Washington Wine Blog "Top 100 of 2019":
"The 2017 ‘Espirit Blanc de Tablas’ is a downright heavyhitter of a wine, and is primarily comprised of Roussanne (75%) with smaller portions Grenache Blanc and Picpoul Blanc. Good richness marks the nose with toasted Challah bread, Pazzaz apple, kiwi and apricot undertones. The palate is both refreshing and highly gratifying, revealing a wonderful fatness and viscosity. Seamless throughout, lychee, starfruit, honeydew melon and wet stone flavors with kumquat tones all collide on the palate. The extremely long, cream and mineral-driven finish completes this simply stunning Rhone style white wine. While this is marvelous now, this has both the stuffing and acidity to cellar well over the next fifteen to twenty years. Drink 2019-2035"
Our second "Top 100" recognition for the Esprit de Tablas Blanc in a week! James Suckling recognized the 2016 Esprit Blanc (#63, 96 points) in his Top 100 Wines of the USA 2019:
"An intense but balanced nose of dried daffodils, apricot pie, dried peaches, vanilla, dried nutmeg and a hint of dried citrus rind. Full-bodied with an oily texture, which is well complemented by some bright acidity and layers of stone fruit. Full and charming white. Drink now or hold."
Allison Levine writes a great article on Tablas Creek's first 30 years, including notes from a tasting of 12 back vintages of Esprit and Esprit Blanc. From her introduction: "Thirty years ago, a partnership was formed between importer Robert Haas and the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf du Pape and they established a winery, Tablas Creek, in Paso Robles. Not only was Tablas Creek one of the original wineries in Paso Robles, but they are one of the pioneers of the California Rhone wine movement."
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