2017 Roussanne
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We use most of our Roussanne in our Esprit de Tablas Blanc each year. However, we often have some Roussanne lots in the cellar that are so powerfully characteristic of the varietal that we feel it would be a shame to lose them in a blend. In these cases, we reserve a small quantity of this Roussanne for a single-varietal bottling.
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93 Points; "intense yellow apple, tangerine and chamomile flavors that put on weight and turn spicier with air": Vinous (Feb. 2020)
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91 Points; "perfumed in the mouth, with juicy acidity to counter the broad texture and a honey-accented finish": Wine Advocate (Oct. 2019)
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90-92 Points; "Medium-bodied, elegant, and seamless on the palate": Jeb Dunnuck (Nov. 2018)
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92-93 Points; "Hefty but refreshingly vibrant as well, displaying impressive finishing clarity and strong, mineral-dominated persistence": Vinous (Sep. 2018)
Tasting Notes
Precise on the nose, with aromas of lacquered wood, pear skin, ginger, and sweet spices. The mouth is clean and light on its feet for Roussanne, reminiscent of Marsanne in many ways with flavors of cantaloupe and lemongrass, medium body, and a bright finish with just a hint of sweet oak. Drink over the next decade or more.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Adelaida District Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 12.0% Alcohol by Volume
- 1050 Cases Produced
Blend
- 100% Roussanne
Recipes & Pairings
Recipe Suggestions
Food Pairings
- Rich shellfish (lobster and crab)
- Sea Bass
- Mildly spicy foods (curries, gumbo)
- Stir-fries in garlic and olive oil
- Salmon
Production Notes
The 2017 Tablas Creek Vineyard Roussanne is Tablas Creek’s seventeenth varietal bottling of our most important white grape. Roussanne was the one grape whose yields did not recover in 2017, but the rainfall (and the healthier vines that resulted) produced intense wines with texture and yet brighter acids than we see in Roussanne lots from most years.
Our Roussanne 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.
We fermented the Roussanne lots that were selected for our varietal bottling roughly 55% in foudre, 35% in neutral oak puncheons, and 10% in small new barriques. The selected lots were blended in April 2018 then aged through the subsequent harvest before bottling in December 2018.