2020 Roussanne
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The 2020 Tablas Creek Vineyard Roussanne is Tablas Creek’s twentieth varietal bottling of our most important white grape. The Roussanne we got in 2020 was powerfully characteristic of the Roussanne grape, and we highlighted its balance of richness and freshness by selecting lots from large foudres, small barriques, and mid-size demi-muids.
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92-93 points; "Vibrant, mineral-accented citrus and orchard fruit scents, along with pungent floral and herb overtones": Vinous (July 2022)
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95 points; "intense, offering scents of quince and Asian pear with supporting notes of lemon curd, honeycomb, candied ginger, and jasmine": BevX (May 2022)
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95 points; "blow your mind stuff that has terrific aging potential": Owen Bargreen (Apr. 2022)
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93-95 points; "plush, rounded and layered, with seamless lift and a very long finish": Robert Parker Wine Advocate (Mar. 2022)
Tasting Notes
An appealing nose of anise, brioche, beeswax, petrichor and jasmine, instantly recognizable as Roussanne. The palate is pretty, showing flavors of ripe pear and chalky minerals, lighter on its feet than many vintages of Roussanne, with a finish of wildflower honey, a sake-like sweet minerality, and a little hint of sweet oak. The wine has only been in bottle for a few months, but it's already drinking well. Drink in the next 3 or 4 years for a pure expression of Roussanne's honey and pear flavors, or hold it for 8-15 years for a flavor profile of caramel, wet rocks, and hazelnut.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Adelaida District Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 12.0% Alcohol by Volume
- 941 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
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.
Our Roussanne grapes were grown on our Regenerative Organic Certified™ 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, noteworthy lushness, and lovely spice.
We chose lots for our varietal bottling that came roughly 55% from foudre, 35% from neutral oak puncheons, and 10% in small new barriques. The selected lots were blended in April 2021 then aged in foudre through the subsequent harvest before bottling this past December.