2013 Syrah
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The 2013 Tablas Creek Vineyard Syrah is Tablas Creek’s ninth bottling of this classic Rhone varietal. The wine displays the character of the Syrah grape exuberantly and elegantly, with classic flavors of bacon fat, wood smoke, blackberry and mineral, and should reward time in bottle to mature.
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92 points; "Impressively lively": Josh Raynolds, Vinous (Sep. 2016)
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91 points; "smoky and seamless": Josh Raynolds, Vinous (Sep. 2015)
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91+ points; "a beautiful and classic syrah": Wine Advocate (Aug. 2015)
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92-94 points; "a very promising future": Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Jul. 2014)
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90-92 points; "outstanding": Wine Advocate (Aug. 2014)
Tasting Notes
The 2013 Syrah shows a rich, round, creamy nose, classic cool-climate "butter in a butcher shop" Syrah, with additional aromas of licorice, white pepper, crushed rock and a little cedary oak. The initial impression in the mouth is one of freshness, but it packs a punch of flavor with blackberry, creamy minerality, mint and substantial but fine-grained tannins. Hold for 6 months or more, and then drink for another fifteen.
Updated tasting notes from a January 2023 vertical tasting can be found on the Tablas Creek blog.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Adelaida District Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 15.5 Alcohol by Volume
- 600 Cases Produced
Blend
- 100% Syrah
Recipes & Pairings
Recipe Suggestions
Food Pairings
- Grilled steaks
- Lamb
- Cassoulet
- Spicy sausages
Production Notes
We use most of our Syrah as a part of our Esprit de Beaucastel and Côtes de Tablas blends each year. However, we believe that Paso Robles is one of the world's great environments for Syrah, and in favorable vintages we try to reserve some particularly classic barrels of Syrah for a single-varietal bottling.
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 harvested our Syrah between August 27th and September 23rd.
The grapes for our 2013 Syrah grapes were grown on our 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard.
The Syrah grapes were destemmed and then fermented using native yeasts in small open-top stainless steel tanks. After two weeks, they were pressed, and moved to a balance of new and old French oak barrels to complete their fermentation. The wine was assembled in May of 2014 and aged for nearly another year in a 1200-gallon foudre before being bottled in April 2015.