Tablas Creek Côtes de Tablas Blanc Paso Robles 2005

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10 Reviews

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Winery:

Tablas Creek Vineyard

Varietal:

Rhône Blend

Region:

USA > California > San Luis Obispo County > Paso Robles

Type:

White Wine

Color:

Drink Dates:

Drink Now

UPC:

 

User Tags:  (tree) fruit, fruit, pome, rich, texture, floral, crisp, apple, stone fruits, citrus 

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What to Expect

Rhone Blends are generally based on Grenache, though some blends may be predominantly Syrah or Mourvedre. The fact that these wines are blends gives the winemakers unusual flexibility in creating a finished wine. In the Southern Rhone Valley of France the styles can range from light, fruity, soft Cotes du Rhone to big, bold, age worthy Chateaunuef-du-pape. This blend is also very popular in Australia and the United States where they frequently go by the Moniker GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) and exhibit the rich, bold fruit that both countries are famous for.

Winemakers Notes

The Tablas Creek Vineyard Côtes de Tablas Blanc is a blend of four estate-grown white Rhône varietals: Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Grenache Blanc. The wine, like most wines of the Southern Rhône, is a blend of varietals, featuring the aromatics and fruit of the Viognier, the flavors and clean minerality of the Marsanne and Roussanne, and the crisp acids and rich mouthfeel of the Grenache Blanc.

The 2005 Côtes de Tablas Blanc is Tablas Creek's fourth national release of its Viognier-based white blend, made in a rich and aromatic style, yet with a clean minerality read more...in the mouth, bright acidity, and a long finish. Like our Côtes de Tablas red, this wine is designed to be ready to drink young: at its peak from the moment of its release.

As with all our wines, the grapes for our Côtes de Tablas Blanc were grown on our 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard.

The 2005 vintage was one of nature's lucky breaks, with excellent quality and higher-than-normal yields. The wet winter of '04-'05 gave the grapevines ample groundwater, and a warm period in March got the vines off to an early May flowering. The summer was uniformly sunny but relatively cool, and harvest began (relatively late for us) in the 3rd week of September. The grapes spent nearly a month longer than normal on the vine, and the resulting wines were intensely mineral, with good structure and powerful aromatics. The Viognier was harvested between September 22nd and October 8th, the Marsanne on October 10th and 11th, the Grenache Blanc between September 26th and October 26th, and the Roussanne (unusually, our last varietal harvested) between September 26th and November 7th.

All varietals for the Côtes de Tablas Blanc were whole cluster pressed, and fermented in stainless steel to emphasize the clean crisp flavors and preserve the aromatics. Only native yeasts were used. After fermentation, the wines were racked and blended, and bottled in April 2006. The wine underwent only a light cold stabilization before bottling.

The 2005 Côtes de Tablas Blanc is a blend in the style of French Cotes du Rhone whites, and features spicy aromas of herbs, stone fruits and minerals are followed in the mouth by apricot flavors, rich texture, bright acidity, and a long, clean peachy finish.

TECHNICAL NOTES
42% Viognier
33% Roussanne
19% Marsanne
6% Grenache Blanc

13.9% Alcohol by Volume
3500 Cases Produced

FOOD PAIRINGS
Mussels Marinière
Green salads with avocado and citrus dressing
Scallops
Ceviche
Light fish (halibut, sole) with tropical salsa    (hide)

Editorial Reviews

Gregory-
Dal Piaz

Hand of Snooth Voice of Snooth

7,118

On the rich side with an almost viscous texture, this has benefitted from 2 years in the cellar. The pear and bitter orange pith fruit is well balanced and framed by gentle suggestions of mineral and almond milk. This is a big wine that doesn’t lack for alcohol and may be a bit too soft for some palates but it does offer an interesting take on the style and would be a great match for a creamy, rich chicken and mushroom soup. 86pts

June 2009

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