2017 Picardan
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The Tablas Creek Vineyard 2017 Picardan is our second varietal bottling of this unique estate-grown varietal, propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate.
Tasting Notes
Picardan is on the nose reminiscent in many ways of a softer take on Picpoul; there are aromas of chamomile, mint, and a little chalky minerality. On the palate, dry but rich, with flavors of peach pit, petrichor, and sweet spice. The finish is long, with flavors of lemon zest, mineral, and sweet herbs.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Adelaida District Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 12.5% Alcohol by Volume
- 110 Cases Produced
Blend
- 100% Picardan
Recipes & Pairings
Recipe Suggestions
Food Pairings
- Mussels Marinière
- Green salads with avocado and citrus dressing
- Scallops
- Light-fleshed fish (halibut, sole) with tropical salsa
Production Notes
Picardan is one of the Rhone's most obscure white grapes, permitted in Chateauneuf du Pape but with a total footprint in France of just over one acre, although it was apparently more common before phylloxera's arrival in the 19th century. We imported it into the United States in 2003 as part of our goal to have all the Chateauneuf du Pape varieties. It was released to us in 2012, and we planted a half-acre in 2013. Its first harvest was 2016.
The Picardan grapes were grown on our certified organic and biodynamic estate vineyard.
The 2017 vintage saw our drought end with a bang, as we received 43 inches of rain and saw our rainiest month ever in January. The wet soils delayed budbreak to a normal time frame, and produced such a healthy vineyard that we saw canopy sizes and cane lengths we hadn’t seen in years. The summer began relatively cool, but was punctuated by two heat spikes, one in early July and the other in late August, that accelerated ripening and produced intense flavors. The resulting vintage shows the health of the vines with a combination of concentration and freshness, with bright acids framing powerful fruit. Our Picardan was harvested in one day on September 14th.
The fruit was whole cluster pressed, and fermented with native yeasts in a small variable capacity stainless steel fermenter until bottling in June 2018.