In today’s tasting Master of Wine David Allen tastes a wine from Tablas Creek vineyards. The Tablas Creek Vineyards Select Cuvee Paso 2017 is not one of this producer’s more expensive wines, in fact it appears that Cuvee Paso may only have been released in this one vintage, however it’s balance and freshness serve as an excellent illustration of the quality of wines made at Tablas Creek.
Tablas Creek Vineyard is a highly regarded wine producer located in Paso Robles. It is credited with planting some of the first Rhône varieties in the region. The estate was formed as a partnership between the Perrin family of the esteemed Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and Robert Haas (d. 2018), the founder of Vineyard Brands. Robert’s son Jason manages the day to day operations.
The vineyard, purchased in 1989, now covers 270 acres (109 acres). It was specifically chosen by the Perrin and Haas families for its similar characteristics to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, including its warm days and cool nights, limestone soils, and rugged terrain.
The vineyard is planted with original vine cuttings from the French château. The imported vines had to pass a three-year USDA testing program before grafting and planting could begin. This pushed back the first vintage to 1997. Today, Tablas Creek has an onsite vinifera nursery that supplies cuttings to vineyards and wineries around the United States.
Tablas Creek’s vineyards are dry-farmed and were certified organic since 2003. Since 2010 many Biodynamic techniques were introduced, including mobile herds of sheep and alpaca, and that certification was gained in 2017. Then in 2020 Tablas Creek became the USA’s first Regenerative Organic Certified vineyard.
In addition to the estate vineyards, Tablas Creek also works with 8 to 12 growers each year. As much as possible they work with vineyards planted from their own cuttings. This fruit supplies the Patelin de Tablas red, white and rosé (this range is not certified organic).
Grapes are harvested by hand and typically picked in two to four passes, selecting only ripe fruit. Each grape variety is kept separate throughout the fermentation process, then blended and aged in large French oak foudres for one year.
The company’s flagship wines are Esprit de Tablas and Esprit de Tablas Blanc. The red is based on Mourvédre with Grenache Noir, Syrah and Counoise. The white is predominantly Roussanne with smaller amounts of Grenache Blanc, and Picpoul. The company also makes a range of other Rhône-style blended and varietal wines. Other varieties grown include Viognier and Marsanne; another seven varieties were recently imported to the estate nursery.
Find out more about the wine, its price & where to buy it by following this link to Wine-Searcher:
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