2016 Grenache
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The 2016 Grenache is Tablas Creek’s eighth varietal bottling (but our first since 2013) of the signature grape of the southern Rhone Valley. The wine shows the bright fruit and tangy acidity of the Grenache Noir grape, both highlighted by the vibrant 2016 vintage.
Tasting Notes
The 2016 Grenache is a pretty garnet color, but deeper both on the nose and on the palate than the color at first suggests. Aromas of red raspberry and plum sit over savory notes of black pepper, wild herbs, and cocoa powder. The mouth shows vibrant wild strawberry fruit, new leather, and more dark spice. Grenache’s characteristic fresh acids and youthful tannins keep control on the long, spicy finish. Drink now or for the next decade.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Adelaida District Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 14.3% Alcohol by Volume
- 925 Cases Produced
Blend
- 100% Grenache
Recipes & Pairings
Recipe Suggestions
Food Pairings
- Grilled steaks
- Pastas with meat sauces
- Rich beef stews
- Spicy sausages
Production Notes
We use most of our Grenache in our Esprit de Tablas and Côtes de Tablas blends each year. However, we feel that this is a grape whose bright fruit, spice and acidity lends itself well to bottling as a single-varietal wine as well. Grenache seems to improve more dramatically with vine age than any other grape we grow, and although we didn't produce our first single-varietal Grenache bottling until 2006, we have made one most years since.
The grapes for our 2016 Grenache were grown on our certified organic and biodynamic 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 is also quite approachable, with open-knit textures and appealing juiciness.
The Grenache grapes were destemmed and then fermented using native yeasts in closed stainless steel and upright oak tanks. After two weeks, they were pressed and moved to neutral barrels to complete their fermentation. It was bottled April 2018.