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Tablas Creek "Esprit de Tablas Blanc" 2020
(Paso Robles, California) - [WA 94-96] [JS 94] [VM 93-94]
Regular price $65.00 Sale price $49.97 Save $15.03
Notes From the Winemaker:
The Tablas Creek Vineyard 2020 Esprit de Tablas Blanc is our flagship white blend, chosen from the top lots of six white Rhone varieties propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate. Roussanne provides the core richness, minerality, and flavors of honey and spice, while Grenache Blanc adds green apple and anise flavors, lush mouthfeel and bright acids. Picpoul Blanc adds pineapple brightness and saline minerality, Bourboulenc provides limestoney, citrusy lift, Clairette Blanche brings clean fruitiness and chalky minerality, and Picardan finishes with a little burst of acid, further emphasizing the mineral notes.
Tasting Notes:
An immediately appealing nose of poached pear and baked quince, vanilla custard and nutmeg spice. On the palate, lovely and long, with Roussanne-driven flavors of beeswax and preserved lemon, rounded out by just a hint of sweet oak. Fresh and lifted, but long and textured. A charming Esprit Blanc that will be hard to resist young but which should also do beautifully with time in the cellar. Drink over the next two decades.
94-96 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The 2020 Esprit de Tablas Blanc is a barrel sample of 46% Roussanne, 28% Grenache Blanc, 14% Picpoul, 5% Bourboulenc, 4% Clairette Blanche and 3% Picardin. Proprietor Jason Haas says this is the first time all six Châteauneuf-du-Pape varieties have been included in this blend. It has alluring aromas of lime peel, spring honey and crushed hazelnuts, a touch aromatically shy at this youthful stage. The palate is broad and satiny, expansive and perfumed, with juicy acidity and a very long finish. It's a promising barrel sample, and 1,880 cases are projected once it is bottled in early 2022." - Erin Brooks (March 2022)
94 Points - James Suckling:
"Attractive nose with sliced lemon, honeysuckle, mineral and melon, followed by hints of spices and cream. Pure and textured on the palate, showing clarity and brightness before an elegant finish. 46% roussanne, 28% grenache blanc. 14% picpoul blanc, 5% bourboulenc, 4% clairette blanche and 3% picardan. Drink or hold." - (Nov 2022)
93-94 Points - Vinous Media:
"Limpid yellow. Penetrating aromas of fresh citrus and orchard fruits, ginger and jasmine are complicated by a smoky mineral element. Juicy and concentrated on the palate, offering sharply defined Anjou pear, nectarine, orange and honeysuckle flavors that show excellent clarity and mineral cut. The floral and mineral notes carry strongly through the vibrant finish, which delivers firm tension and a refreshingly bitter edge." - Josh Raynolds (July 2022)
The Tablas Creek Vineyard 2020 Esprit de Tablas Blanc is our flagship white blend, chosen from the top lots of six white Rhone varieties propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate. Roussanne provides the core richness, minerality, and flavors of honey and spice, while Grenache Blanc adds green apple and anise flavors, lush mouthfeel and bright acids. Picpoul Blanc adds pineapple brightness and saline minerality, Bourboulenc provides limestoney, citrusy lift, Clairette Blanche brings clean fruitiness and chalky minerality, and Picardan finishes with a little burst of acid, further emphasizing the mineral notes.
Tasting Notes:
An immediately appealing nose of poached pear and baked quince, vanilla custard and nutmeg spice. On the palate, lovely and long, with Roussanne-driven flavors of beeswax and preserved lemon, rounded out by just a hint of sweet oak. Fresh and lifted, but long and textured. A charming Esprit Blanc that will be hard to resist young but which should also do beautifully with time in the cellar. Drink over the next two decades.
Ratings & Reviews
"The 2020 Esprit de Tablas Blanc is a barrel sample of 46% Roussanne, 28% Grenache Blanc, 14% Picpoul, 5% Bourboulenc, 4% Clairette Blanche and 3% Picardin. Proprietor Jason Haas says this is the first time all six Châteauneuf-du-Pape varieties have been included in this blend. It has alluring aromas of lime peel, spring honey and crushed hazelnuts, a touch aromatically shy at this youthful stage. The palate is broad and satiny, expansive and perfumed, with juicy acidity and a very long finish. It's a promising barrel sample, and 1,880 cases are projected once it is bottled in early 2022." - Erin Brooks (March 2022)
94 Points - James Suckling:
"Attractive nose with sliced lemon, honeysuckle, mineral and melon, followed by hints of spices and cream. Pure and textured on the palate, showing clarity and brightness before an elegant finish. 46% roussanne, 28% grenache blanc. 14% picpoul blanc, 5% bourboulenc, 4% clairette blanche and 3% picardan. Drink or hold." - (Nov 2022)
93-94 Points - Vinous Media:
"Limpid yellow. Penetrating aromas of fresh citrus and orchard fruits, ginger and jasmine are complicated by a smoky mineral element. Juicy and concentrated on the palate, offering sharply defined Anjou pear, nectarine, orange and honeysuckle flavors that show excellent clarity and mineral cut. The floral and mineral notes carry strongly through the vibrant finish, which delivers firm tension and a refreshingly bitter edge." - Josh Raynolds (July 2022)