2018 Counoise
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The 2018 Tablas Creek Vineyard Counoise is Tablas Creek’s ninth varietal bottling of this traditional blending grape from the Southern Rhone. The Counoise grape has an unusual combination of vibrant blue and purple fruit (blueberries and cranberries), sweet spice (nutmeg and cinnamon), light-to-medium body, bright acidity, ruby color, and soft tannin.
Tasting Notes
The 2018 Counoise shows a vibrant garnet hue, with a spicy nose of blueberry, wood smoke, wild strawberry, and new leather. The mouth is lifted, medium-bodied, with flavors of sour cherry, sweet vanilla bean, and tangy watermelon, deepened with brambly spice and kept fresh by a bite of tannin and refreshing acidity that comes out on the finish. Drink this wine now and for the next five years.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Adelaida District Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 12.5% Alcohol by Volume
- 85 Cases Produced
Blend
- 100% Counoise
Recipes & Pairings
Recipe Suggestions
Food Pairings
- Roast pork loin
- Veal
- Roasted Chicken
- Spicy sausages
Production Notes
Our Counoise grapes were grown on our certified organic and biodynamic estate vineyard. We typically use most of this Counoise in our Esprit de Tablas and Côtes de Tablas wines. However, in years when Counoise spends an unusually long time on the vine, it achieves enough concentration to balance its exuberant fruit, spice and acidity and we bottle it on its own.
The 2018 vintage saw an almost ideal balance of vine health and stress, as is often the case with the first dry year after a very wet one. Although rainfall was just 70% of normal, the rains came late, delaying the onset of bud-break and the beginning of the growing season. The cool weather continued most of the year, punctuated by a six-week heat wave in July and early August. But temperatures moderated before picking began, and harvest proceeded under slightly cooler than normal conditions, allowing us to pick without stress and producing fruit (and wines) with intense flavors and good balancing acidity.
The Counoise grapes were destemmed and fermented in closed-top stainless steel fermenters using only native yeasts. After two weeks, the grapes were pressed, moved to neutral barrels, and bottled -- under screwcap, to preserve its brightness -- in June of 2020.