2013 Tablas Creek Esprit de Tablas, USA, California, Paso Robles, Wine Review

40% Mourvedre, 28% Syrah, 22% Grenache, and 10% Counoise. This is still pretty young but quite delicious. Sort of like a California version of a Chateauneuf du Pape. Deep ruby in color with some purple swirls. The nose has cherries, plums, cedar, spice and slight cocoa powder. On the palate, the spicy red fruits dominate at this stage. Good acidity. Nice finish. This has tight layers that unwind in the glass. This will work with a wide variety of foods. It may improve a bit from here but easily has a decade and probably two left in it.

Grade:

Score:

Vintage:

2013

Current Price:

$60.00USD

America’s Best Rhone Style Red Wines: 11th Annual Rhone Rangers Tasting Reviewed

The Rhone Report: About Rhone and Rhone-Style Wines and Winemakers is part of an ongoing series. Last month we discussed the white Rhone style wines offered at the 2008 Rhone Rangers tasting event at Fort Mason in San Francisco on March 18. This month we turn to the reds, of which we tasted 50. Among those we tasted were some old favorites and some wineries or bottlings with which we were not yet familiar. We don’t pretend that we tasted a representative group of wines, because our sample was skewed to wines we have loved in the past and others about which we have heard positive comments.

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2008 Hospice du Rhone Events: Highs & Lows of American Rhone-style Wines Tasted

The Rhone Report: About Rhone and Rhone-Style Wines and Winemakers is part of an ongoing series. The 16th annual Hospice du Rhone events in Paso Robles, California from May 1 to 3, 2008 was an opportunity to consider Rhone-style wines from a fresh perspective. Unlike most tasting opportunities, these events included Rhone-style wines from the Rhone Valley itself (51 wineries), elsewhere in France (4 wineries) as well as from Spain (4 wineries), Australia (17 wineries), South Africa (6 wineries), Chile (2 wineries), Argentina (1 winery) and the United States. The American wines were mostly from California (144 wineries), but a few examples from Arizona (2 wineries) and Washington State (5 wineries) were also included. While this is a California-dominated event, and while many of the Rhone Valley’s best producers aren’t represented, there is still sufficient European and other entries to make for interesting comparisons and contrasts. The events included two general tastings and a series of focused seminars.

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2018 Tablas Creek Esprit de Tablas, USA, California, Paso Robles, Adelaida District, Wine Review

Vintage:

2018

Score:

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Current Price:

$65.00USD

This is a blend of 40% Mourvedre, 27% Syrah, 23% Grenache, and 10% Counoise. It is Tablas Creek's version of a Chateauneuf du Pape. Garnet in color with some purple swirls, mostly clear and bright. The nose has black raspberries, black cherries, plums, spice and slight floral notes. Full bodied. Medium tannins. Great balance. On the palate, this is still young but drinking well with air. Flavors of black raspberries, plums with spice and char. Lovely texture. Long finish. This should drink well for another ten to fifteen years. It would be a great with with roasted fowl but also

2016 Tablas Creek Esprit de Tablas, USA, California, Paso Robles, Adelaida, Wine Review

Vintage:

2016

Score:

Grade:

Current Price:

$50.00USD

This is the Tablas Creek version of a Chateauneuf du Pape. It is a blend of 46% Mourvedre, 31% Syrah, 18% Grenache, and 5% Counoise grapes. At age 5 from vintage, this is drinking great already. The nose has plums, black cherries, spice with a touch of funk. Full bodied with a great texture. Red and purple fruits; black cherries, cherries and boysenberries with a nice underlying minerality. Nice finish. This is still young and should develop more over the next five years or so, and drink well for ten more after that. It drinks great on its own and would work well with roasted meats

Top Ten California Syrahs - 2016

I tend to taste and drink a lot of wine over the course of a year. I am in a few tasting groups, sometimes the wines are consumed at various local wine store tastings and a number drunk with friends and family.

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2013 Tablas Creek Esprit de Tablas, USA, California, Paso Robles, Wine Review

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America’s Best Rhone Style Red Wines: 11th Annual Rhone Rangers Tasting Reviewed

2008 Hospice du Rhone Events: Highs & Lows of American Rhone-style Wines Tasted

2018 Tablas Creek Esprit de Tablas, USA, California, Paso Robles, Adelaida District, Wine Review

2016 Tablas Creek Esprit de Tablas, USA, California, Paso Robles, Adelaida, Wine Review

Top Ten California Syrahs - 2016