2013 Esprit de Tablas Blanc
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The Tablas Creek Vineyard 2013 Esprit de Tablas Blanc is a blend of three estate-grown varietals, propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate. Roussanne provides the core richness, minerality, and flavors of honey and spice, while Grenache Blanc adds green apple and anise flavors, a lush mouthfeel and bright acids. Picpoul Blanc completes the blend, adding a saline minerality and tropical notes.
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90 points; "Delivering a rich mouth-feel and balanced acidity": FB World (Jun. 2016)
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91 points; "Full-bodied with rich fruit... and a robust structure": BevX (Apr. 2016)
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91 points; "very good depth and clarity": Vinous (Sep. 2015)
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"a golden beauty": Detroit News (Sep. 2015)
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"Exceptional ... a stunning Roussanne based wine": Underground Wineletter (Sep. 2015)
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90-93 points; "focused and pure": Wine Advocate (August 2014)
Tasting Notes
The 2013 Esprit de Tablas Blanc has a deep-toned nose of lacquered wood, peach pit, and butterscotch: absolutely Roussanne, richly layered, with an intriguing tarragon-like high note that emerges with air. The mouth is more tightly wound than the nose initially suggests, with a rich texture, flavors of grilled peach, clove and allspice. The finish opens back up, with nectarine, citrus blossom and a little sweet oak. Impressive now, it should also go out 15 years or more and gain additional nuttiness and complexity with time.
Updated tasting notes from a January 2023 vertical tasting can be found on the Tablas Creek blog.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 13.0% Alcohol by Volume
- 2200 Cases Produced
Blend
- 71% Roussanne
- 21% Grenache Blanc
- 8% Picpoul Blanc
Recipes & Pairings
Recipe Suggestions
Food Pairings
- Cooked shellfish (lobster, softshell crab, shrimp)
- Roasted or grilled vegetables (eggplant, asparagus, peppers)
- Foods cooked with garlic and olive oil
- Rich fish dishes (i.e., salmon, swordfish)Asian stir fry
Production Notes
The 2013 vintage was a classic California vintage, warm and sunny, with added intensity from the low yields produced by our second consecutive drought year. The summer was consistently warm, without the heat spikes or cold stretches that can delay ripening, and resulted in an early harvest under near-perfect conditions. The net result was a blockbuster vintage, with excellent concentration and good freshness, that should offer both early appeal and the capacity to age. We began harvesting our Grenache Blanc on September 4th, Picpoul Blanc on September 5th and our Roussanne on September 11th. Picking continued through september, finishing with our last lot of Roussanne on October 3rd.
The grapes for our Esprit de Tablas Blanc were grown on our certified organic estate vineyard.
The fruit was whole cluster pressed, and fermented with native yeasts. The Roussanne was fermented in neutral oak of various sizes: 60-gallon oak barrels, 170-gallon demi-muids, and 1200-gallon foudres. The Grenache Blanc was fermented partially in stainless steel and also in one foudre, and the Picpoul Blanc was fermented in small neutral oak and stainless steel barrels. All the wines went through malolactic fermentation. The lots were selected and blended in April 2014, and aged in foude until their bottling in December 2014.