Wine Musings: Tablas Creek

Back in November we had a Rhone Valley wine tasting with some of our best customers (and the lovely Danny Haas from Vineyards Brands, who is truly a wealth of knowledge).  In addition to a plethora of Rhones, we also tasted through selections from California winery Tablas Creek.    

The (important) backstory: Tablas Creek is the the result of a partnership between the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel and Robert Haas, founder of Vineyard Brands.   The families partnered in the 80’s and purchased a 120-acre property in the hilly Las Tablas district of west Paso Robles (which had similarities to Châteauneuf du Pape - limestone soils, a favorable climate, and rugged terrain).  The vineyard grows grape varieties traditionally grown in Rhone, including Mourvèdre, Grenache Noir, Syrah, and Counoise for reds, and Roussanne, Viognier, Marsanne, and Grenache Blanc for whites.





In a nutshell, I LOVE the wines coming from Tablas Creek.  My store is currently carrying two of their whites:  TABLAS CREEK VINEYARD PATELIN DE TABLAS BLANC 2010 and TABLAS CREEK ESPRIT DE BEAUCASTEL BLANC 2009.  These are both Rhone-style whites that are to die for – crisp, floral, and citrusey with lovely minerality.  And the under-$50 price tage definitely beats what you’ll pay for a true Beaucastel.

I definitely recommend anything from Tablas Creek if you are looking for a unique wine for the holidays.  If you can't make it out to Gaithersburg, a little birdy told me that you may be able to find it at Calvert Woodley in DC as well.

photo courtesy of tablascreek.com