2016 Cotes de Tablas Blanc
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The Tablas Creek Vineyard 2016 Côtes de Tablas Blanc is a blend of four estate-grown white Rhône varietals. The wine, like most wines of the Southern Rhône, is a blend of varietals, featuring the floral aromatics and stone fruit of Viognier, the crisp acids and rich mouthfeel of Grenache Blanc, and the structure and minerality of Marsanne and Roussanne.
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92 points; "fascinating mineral tone, a grippy and yet still expressive wine": Wine Enthusiast (May 2018)
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92 points; "Finishes sappy, focused, and impressively long": Vinous (Nov 2017)
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92 points; "perfectly balanced with a vibrant texture": BevX (Nov 2017)
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91 points, "The palate offers well balanced density on entry": Purely Domestic Wine Report (Nov 2017)
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"Outstanding Plus ... a really gorgeous wine with great complexity and balance": Underground WineLetter (Nov 2017)
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91 points; "alluring ... great poise ... wonderfully minerally": Wine Advocate (Sep 2017)
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91 points; "straight up delicious": Jeb Dunnuck (Aug 2017)
Tasting Notes
The 2016 Côtes de Tablas Blanc has an intense nose of peach pit, wet rocks, white tea and tarragon. The mouth is nicely balanced, as its initial brightness and flavors of nectarine, preserved lemon, and mineral turn richer on the mid-palate, with sweet spices coming out. The finish brightens up again with notes of pink grapefruit and lemon verbena. Drink now and for at least the next five years.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Adelaida District Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 13.0% Alcohol by Volume
- 1790 Cases Produced
Blend
- 43% Viognier
- 40% Grenache Blanc
- 14% Marsanne
- 3% Roussanne
Recipes & Pairings
Recipe Suggestions
Food Pairings
- Mussels Marinière
- Green salads with avocado and citrus dressing
- Scallops
- Ceviche
- Light fish (halibut, sole) with tropical salsa
Production Notes
The grapes for our Côtes de Tablas Blanc were grown on our certified organic estate vineyard.
The 2016 vintage, while still marked by drought, saw better rainfall than the four previous years, and the vineyards showed good health through most of the growing season. That season started with a very early budbreak and continued warm weather spurred our earliest-ever beginning to harvest, on August 18th. But beginning mid-August, three cool weeks slowed the ripening for all but our earliest grapes, and allowed them to reach flavor and phenolic maturity with slightly above-average hang time. The resulting vintage shows excellent concentration but also remarkable vibrancy, with electric acids framing appealing juiciness.
All varietals for the Côtes de Tablas Blanc were whole cluster pressed, and fermented in stainless steel to emphasize their clean crisp flavors and preserve their aromatics. Only native yeasts were used. After fermentation, the wines were racked and blended, and bottled in June 2017. The wine underwent only a light cold stabilization before bottling.