News & Press

2023 Esprit de Tablas is in Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Cellar Selections 2026

Wine Enthusiast has unveiled its annual Top 100 Cellar Selections for 2026, highlighting the most age-worthy newly released wines from around the world. Chosen by the magazine's tasting panel from approximately 25,000 wines reviewed each year, the list serves as a definitive guide to benchmark bottles built to evolve gracefully in the cellar.

We are honored that our 2023 Esprit de Tablas was selected at #80 on this year's list, earning 94 points and a Cellar Selection designation.

Contributing editor Matt Kettmann reviewed the wine:

"This always expertly balanced blend this year features 33% Mourvèdre, 31% Syrah, 26% Grenache, 6% Cinsaut, 2% Vaccarese, and 2% Counoise. Aromas of plum-tinged jícima and peppery herbs lead from the nose into a fresh and tense palate of lavender, fennel pollen and brisk cran-raspberry flavors. Drink now–2043."

Explore the complete list of honorees at WineEnthusiast.com.

Chicago Tribune: Good Wine, No Bottle Required

In an October 21, 2026 feature for the Chicago Tribune, writer Anna Lee Iijima explores how quality-minded producers are challenging long-held assumptions by offering premium, terroir-driven wines in flexible bag and box formats.

The article highlights our journey into alternative packaging, which started with an internal carbon footprint audit that revealed switching from traditional glass bottles to bag-in-box could cut packaging-related carbon emissions by roughly 84%. General Manager Jason Haas notes how the format has resonated with customers for both sustainability and everyday convenience:

It's like having wine on tap at your convenience, without the commitment of opening a bottle.

Our 2025 Patelin de Tablas Blanc (3L box) was selected as one of the standout options worth buying:

"A Rhône-inspired white, this fragrant, floral blend of grenache blanc, viognier, roussanne, marsanne, vermentino and picpoul blanc brims with stone-fruit flavors and a touch of spice. Versatile and thirst-quenching, it's the kind of wine you'll love having on hand in the fridge, ready for just about any mood or meal."

Read the full story at ChicagoTribune.com.

Wine Spectator: Best Buys, Best Friends: Wine Values Across the Globe

In a global value feature, Wine Spectator writers Keith Newton and Larry Rubin explore high-quality wines priced at $30 or less that bridge the gap between traditional Old World regions and dynamic New World terroirs.

Focusing on classic Rhône varieties, the authors highlight how Syrah and Grenache have traveled far beyond their European strongholds to become central to California's wine identity, combining rich fruit, savory complexity, and structural elegance.

We are honored that our 2024 Patelin de Tablas was selected as a top global buy in the Syrah, Grenache & Blends category, earning a 93-point rating ($28).

Decidedly savory yet fresh and inviting, with thyme and licorice root notes that meld with a silky core of juicy plum and wild strawberry buoyed by fresh acidity. This circles back to its opening notes on the finish around mineral-tinged tannins and a hint of cocoa powder. Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Counoise.

The feature also highlights the 2023 Vinsobres Les Cornuds (91 points, $20) from our partners at Famille Perrin, celebrating the connection between the Rhône Valley and Paso Robles.

Read the full report and rankings at WineSpectator.com

Sommelier India: Tablas Creek’s Remarkable Fourteen

In the Winter 2026 issue of Sommelier India, wine writer Mira Advani Honeycutt explores our single-varietal program in a feature titled "Tablas Creek's Remarkable Fourteen." The article highlights our achievement as the first winery in the world to bottle all 14 traditional Châteauneuf-du-Pape grape varieties as single-varietal wines.

Honeycutt traces our journey from importing vine cuttings from Château de Beaucastel to planting our westside Paso Robles estate, noting our mission to explore each variety individually:

"We are the first to bottle them individually (in the world) and the first to grow all 14 varieties outside of France," said General Manager and Partner Jason Haas. "Until people saw them labelled varietally and bottled on their own, it was hard to explain why they should care."

The feature also touches on our 2025 vintage, our self-sustaining farm ecosystem, and the rare Picardan planting that expanded the world footprint of the variety by 40%.

Read more about the issue at SommelierIndia.com.

The Drinks Business: California Growers Reveal ‘Intense Concentration’ of 2026 Grapes

In an October 9, 2026 report, Sarah Neish of The Drinks Business looks into early takeaways from California's 2026 harvest. While crops are down across the state following an early start and unsettled spring weather during flowering, winemakers report that smaller berries are yielding remarkable flavor concentration and freshness.

The article features Tablas Creek, highlighting General Manager Jason Haas on the high quality of this year's fruit:

"The flavours on everything are intense and characteristic. So while we could wish for more quantity, the quality looks impeccable."

Read the full report at TheDrinksBusiness.com.

Harpers: California: Early Harvest and Smaller Yields Characterise Growing Year

UK trade publication Harpers Wine & Spirit covered the early start to California’s 2026 harvest, noting that while spring weather resulted in lighter yields and smaller berries, vintners across the state are seeing promising flavor concentration and freshness.

The article quotes Tablas Creek, quoting Partner and General Manager Jason Haas on the exceptional character of this vintage's fruit:

"The flavors on everything are intense and characteristic. So while we could wish for more quantity, the quality looks impeccable."

Wine Industry Advisor: California 2026 Vintage Preview: An Early Harvest Shows Promise Across the State

In an October 1, 2026 harvest preview published by Wine Institute, winemakers across California reported an early, fast-paced harvest marked by lighter yields, smaller berries, and encouraging flavor concentration and freshness.

The report notes that on the Central Coast, Rhône varieties at Tablas Creek showed vivid color and distinctive flavors, beginning with an early estate pick of Viognier on August 7. Partner and General Manager Jason Haas shared his perspective on the quality of the incoming fruit:

"The flavors on everything are intense and characteristic. So while we could wish for more quantity, the quality looks impeccable."

Read the full harvest preview at WineIndustryAdvisor.com.

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘I’ll never forget this vintage’: Inside California’s unusual wine harvest

Our Jason Haas spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle about how California’s unusual harvest has played out for us here in Paso Robles. In this great article Senior Newsroom Meteorologist Greg Porter takes you from Sonoma to Napa to the Central Coast to tell the story of the 2026 vintage.

One quote from Jason that we thought memorable: “If there were ever a year that California would look at lower yields and say, ‘hey, that’s okay,’ this is probably that year.”