2020 Picardan
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The Tablas Creek Vineyard 2020 Picardan is our fifth varietal bottling of this unique estate-grown varietal, propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate. 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.
Tasting Notes
The 2020 Picardan shows clean but rich aromas of fresh pineapple, yellow raspberry, and sweet spice. On the palate, flavors of vanilla custard, preserved lemon, dried mango, and crushed rock, creamy texture, and a soft, pretty finish kept fresh by a little citrus pith bite and a lingering note of saline minerality.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Adelaida District Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 12.0% Alcohol by Volume
- 63 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
The Picardan grapes were grown on our certified organic and biodynamic estate vineyard.
The 2020 vintage began benignly, with a cool spring that delayed budbreak to a little after normal, and continued below-average temperatures through July. Beginning in August, the weather turned hot, accelerating ripening and producing intense flavors. The state's terrible fires stayed well north of us, and the harvest finished early, under a compressed timeline but good conditions. The vintage shows concentrated flavors and a distinctive savory, spicy character.
The fruit was whole cluster pressed, and fermented with native yeasts in a small variable capacity stainless steel fermenter until bottling in June 2021.