2010 Cabernet Sauvignon
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The Tablas Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 is Tablas Creek's first varietal bottling of this renowned grape, famous for the wines in makes in Bordeaux and many regions around the New World.
Tasting Notes
The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon has a classic Cabernet nose of eucalyptus, sour cherry, sawdust, wood spice and green peppercorns. The mouth is richer than the nose suggests, with plum, juniper, clove and allspice notes, and a very long finish that vibrates between sweet fruit, firm tannins and spice. We suggest a short-term rest in the cellar, and expect the wine to drink well for the next two decades.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 13.5% Alcohol by Volume
- 100 Cases Produced
Blend
- 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Recipes & Pairings
Recipe Suggestions
Food Pairings
- Game
- Dark Fowl (i.e., duck)
- Richly flavored stews
- Lamb
- Pasta puttanesca
- Asian preparation of red meats (i.e., beef stir fry)
Production Notes
After importing our Châteauneuf du Pape clones, we brought in selections of a few other high quality (non-Rhone) clones as part of an effort to expand our nursery business. Although we eventually decided that our nursery should remain focused solely on the Rhone grape varieties we grow, we had already planted a few small increase blocks of these other grapes. The Cabernet Sauvignon we've harvested has in past years been co-fermented with our Tannat (a traditional partner in the Basque country where it is from) but in 2010 we were so taken with our Cabernet that we kept separate the four barrels we had and bottled 88 cases.
Our Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are grown on our 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard.
The 2010 vintage saw healthy rainfall after three years of drought. The ample early-season groundwater and a lack of spring frosts produced a good fruit set. A very cool summer delayed ripening by roughly three weeks, with harvest not beginning until mid-September and still less than half complete in mid-October. Warm, sunny weather between mid-October and mid-November allowed the later-ripening varieties to reach full maturity. The long hangtime and cool temperatures combined to produce fruit with intense flavors and dark color at low alcohol levels. Our tiny block of Cabernet was harvested on October 20th.
The grapes were fermented in a one-ton microfermenter using native yeasts. After pressing, the wine was moved into four 60-gallon barrels: two new American oak barrels and two three-year-old French oak barrels, for a balance of oak characteristics and elegance. The wines stayed on their lees, stirred occasionally, for a year and a half before they were blended and bottled in May 2012.