Paso Robles

• Willow Creek

From Magnum.  54% Syrah, 35% Grenache, and 11% Mourvedre.  Opened and allowed to breather for a few hours prior to serving.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is great with black raspberries, blueberries, char, and white pepper.  Full bodied.  Delicious.  On the palate, ever so slightly ripe/sweet black raspberries with some cassis and underlying char.  Deep.  Lush texture.  Great balance.  Long finish.  Still on the younger side of mature at least from Magnum.  Another few years and should be good for ten to fifteen more after that.  Great on its own, this  will work with ribs or full flavor

Great showing for this wine as it near maturity.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, slight black olive, white pepper and slight char.  Full bodied.  Great texture.  On the palate, crisp black raspberry fruit with plenty of depth.  Light tannins.  Underlying char and pepper.  Long finish.  A lot of alcohol but not noticeable on the nose or palate.  Delicious and a crowd favorite.  Srink over the next ten to twelve years.  A nice match with roasts or food off the grill.  

Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is dusty with black cherries.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, black raspberry fruit.  Slightly tart.  Moderate finish.  This drinks nicely on its own and will work well with a burger.  Drink over the next few years.  

This is 100% Mourvedre according to the back label.  Gorgeous wine but I am very partial to Mourvedre wines.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, slight plums, spice, black pepper and char.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this needs some air to open fully.  Lots of black raspberry fruit over and earthy and smoky base.  Great liveliness.  Good acidity.  Light tannins.  Long finish.  This may still improve a bit but no harm drinking now and over the next twelve to fifteen years.  Great on its own, this would work well with Indian foods or most stews.  

The top wine in the Tablas creek stable.  A blend of 60% Mourvedre, 30% Grenache and 10% Syrah.  Tasted along side the 03, this is more animale and a bit darker fruits.  Both were stunning.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has a fair amount of barnyard/brett.  If tasting blind, I would have guessed older Beaucastel.  There is also plenty of plums and black raspberry fruit.  On the palate, this has light tannins left.  Layers of plums, black cherries and black raspberries with plenty of earthiness.  Great balance and energy.  Long finish.  Delicious and demanding of attention o

This is the top wine that Tablas Creek makes.  It is a blend of 69% Mourvedre, 21% Grenache, 7% Syrah, and 3% Counoise.  Wow.  At age 18, this is gorgeous.  Bought on release and decanted for sediment just prior to serving.  Still vibrant and drinking youthfully if closing in on peak.  The nose has plums, black cherries, a slight char and a bit of earthiness.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this layered and complex.  Layers of black cherries, plums, earth and spice.  Tannins seemed resolved.  Great balance and energy.  Long finish.  Drinking on its own, this will be contemplative but will wor

Sadly this was slightly corked.  No fruit due to the TCA, but the texture was great and the potpourri notes were evident.  It happens.  

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

This is a blend of 60% Syrah, 25% Grenache and 15% Terret Noir grapes.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper and roasted herbs.  Full bodied with firm tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries with some char underneath.  Delicious.  Nice acidity.  Long finish.  They Syrah is dominating now but this should gain some complexity with a few more years in bottle.  Drink over the next twelve to fifteen years.  This would work great with Indian or Thai food with a bit of spice.  

This is always a great value.  it is a blend of 37% Syrah, 35% Grenache, 23% Mourvedre, and 3% Counoise.  Tablas Creek sells vines and then sources back some of the grapes from those vineyards to make this wine.  Brilliant and what a way to be a good neighbor.  The eight vineyards are listed on the label (plus 4% of Tablas Creek grapes).  Screw capped.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is warm with dust, cherries and an anise (black licorice) note.  Nice texture.  On the palate, the cherries and anise come thru.  Some depth.  Nice finish.  This drinks well but would be ev