2024 Vaccarèse
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The Tablas Creek Vineyard 2024 Vaccarèse is our fifth varietal bottling of this rare Chateauneuf-du-Pape grape, propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate.
Vaccarèse is a little-known blending grape from the south of France; at less than 30 acres planted in France in 2016 it is one of Chateauneuf du Pape's rarest, and the two-thirds of an acre that we planted here in Paso Robles is California's first. But it's already shown tremendous potential, earning a spot in our Esprit de Tablas the last four vintages.
Tasting Notes
A nose of black licorice, teriyaki marinade, and wild Concord grapes. On the palate, savory with flavors of pine and juniper, black tea, big tannins, and a grape candy note that lingers on the finish.
Technical Details
Appellation
- Adelaida District Paso Robles
Technical Notes
- 14.0% Alcohol by Volume
- 150 Cases Produced
Blend
- 100% Vaccarèse
Certifications
Recipes & Pairings
Recipe Suggestions
Food Pairings
- Dried sausages
- Salty cheeses
- Santa Maria tri tip
- Coq au vin
Production Notes
Vaccarèse is large berried and yet quite dark, and produces wines with dark color, aromas of pine forest and juniper, flavors of tobacco, graphite, and spice, medium body, and some tannic grip. While we expect to ultimately use it in our red blends, with these early vintages, we are exploring what a seminal French ampelography calls its "indisputable aromatic floral originality" and "very fresh and very elegant flavor".
The 2024 vintage began with second consecutive wet winter, giving the vines good reserves for the growing season. After a normal budbreak and a cool first half of the summer, those reserves were tested by our warmest-ever July and above-average temperatures through October. That led to a compressed harvest that was largely done by the second week of October and yields roughly 20% below our long-term averages. The low yields and warm year combined to produce fruit with intense flavors and noteworthy vibrancy.
The grapes for our 2024 Vaccarèse were grown on our Regenerative Organic Certified™ and biodynamic estate vineyard.
The fruit was destemmed and fermented on the skins for two weeks in a 1-ton microfermenter, punched down twice daily. Only native yeasts we used. After two weeks, the berries were pressed, and this was combined with the free-run juice into neutral oak barrels. It aged there on its lees until we bottled it in April of 2026.