2014 Esprit de Tablas Blanc
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The Tablas Creek Vineyard 2014 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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92 points; "Good weight on entry, subtle polished white fruits in the core": Purely Domestic Wine Report: (Nov 2017)
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93 points; "Deftly combines power and finesse": Josh Raynolds, Vinous (Sep. 2016)
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91-93 points; "Silky and focused on the palate": Vinous (Sep. 2015)
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92-94 points; "concentrated and with vibrant acidity": Wine Advocate (Aug. 2015)
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"big, rich and intense": Gang of Pour (Sep. 2016)
Tasting Notes
The 2014 Esprit de Tablas Blanc has an appealing nose of fresh pears, wildflower honey and candied pecan, lifted by a spicy notes of anise and orange blossom. The mouth shows flavors of salted honeydew, honeycrisp apple, and more pear, with floral notes of jasmine and citrus blossom reemerging on the long, clean, spicy finish. Already delicious, it should also go out 15 years or more and gain additional nuttiness and complexity with time.
Updated tasting notes from a July 2020 vertical tasting can be found on the Tablas Creek blog.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Adelaida District Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 13.5% Alcohol by Volume
- 2200 Cases Produced
Blend
- 72% Roussanne
- 23% Grenache Blanc
- 5% 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 2014 vintage was our third consecutive drought year and saw our earliest-ever beginning to the growing season. The summer was warm but without serious heat spikes, and our coolest August in a decade slowed ripening at a critical period. When it warmed back up in September, the fruit tumbled in, and we finished in mid-October, about two weeks earlier than normal. The result was a vintage with excellent concentration balanced by good freshness, which should be vibrant and powerful young, but with the balance to age. We began harvesting our Grenache Blanc and Roussanne on September 4th followed by Picpoul Blanc on September 17th. Picking continued through september, finishing with our last lot of Roussanne on October 15th.
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 2015, and aged in foudre until their bottling in December 2015.