Current Vintages
Esprit de Beaucastel 2005
Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc 2006
Rosé 2007
Côtes de Tablas 2005
Côtes de Tablas Blanc 2006
Roussanne 2006
Grenache Blanc 2006
Mourvedre 2005
Syrah 2005
Panoplie 2005*
Counoise 2005*
Viognier 2006*
Vermentino 2006*
Picpoul Blanc 2005*
Antithesis Chardonnay 2006*
Tannat 2004*
Vin de Paille 2005*
Vin de Paille "Quintessence" 2004*
Vin de Paille "Sacrerouge" 2005*
Recent Vintages
Esprit de Beaucastel 2004
Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc 2005
Rosé 2006
Côtes de Tablas 2004
Côtes de Tablas Blanc 2005
Panoplie 2004*
Roussanne 2005
Grenache Blanc 2005
Mourvedre 2004
Syrah 2004
Esprit de Beaucastel 2003
Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc 2004
Antithesis Chardonnay 2005*
Vermentino 2005*
Rosé 2005
Grenache Blanc 2004
Roussanne 2004
Viognier 2004*
Vin de Paille 2004*
Vin de Paille "Sacrerouge" 2003*
Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc 2003
Rosé 2004
Côtes de Tablas 2003
Côtes de Tablas Blanc 2004
Roussanne 2003
Mourvedre 2003
Syrah 2003
Panoplie 2003*
Tannat 2003*
Vermentino 2003*
Picpoul Blanc 2003*
Tannat 2002*
Vin de Paille 2003*
Vin de Paille "Quintessence" 2003*
Glenrose Vineyard 2002*
Esprit de Beaucastel 2002
Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc 2002
Rosé 2003
Côtes de Tablas 2002
Côtes de Tablas Blanc 2003
Panoplie 2002*
Roussanne 2002
Côtes de Tablas 2001
Rosé 2002
Côtes de Tablas Blanc 2002
Esprit de Beaucastel 2000
Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc 2001
Côtes de Tablas 2000
Rosé 2001
Panoplie 2000*
Reserve Cuvée 1999
Petite Cuvée 1999*
Clos Blanc 2000
Antithesis 2000*
Rosé 2000
Rouge 1998
Blanc 1999
Rosé 1999
Rouge 1997
Blanc 1998
* Available Winery/Internet Only
2005 Esprit de Beaucastel Released!
We are thrilled to announce the national release of the 2005 Esprit de Beaucastel, recently rated 92-94 points by Robert Parker and 93 points by Tanzer's I.W.C. We feel it is our best Esprit yet.

As always, members of the VINsider wine club received early access to this wine in the September 2007 club shipment. The wine was also available to VINsiders en primeur in the fall of 2006.

This wine is now available to through our online wine shop, as well as in national distribution.
   

Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Beauacstel 2005 Bottle Photo

TECHNICAL NOTES
44% Mourvèdre
26% Grenache
25% Syrah
5% Counoise

14.5% alcohol by volume
3250 cases produced

FOOD PAIRINGS
Game
Dark Fowl (i.e., duck)
Richly flavored stews
Lamb
Asian preparation of red meats (i.e., beef stir fry)

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS
Pork Loin with Apricots
Boeuf Provencal
Braised Short Ribs

Printable Brand Sheet

Printable Restaurant/Shelf Talker

REVIEWS
Vinography.com (Jan. 2008)
S.F. Chronicle (Dec. 2007)
Gang of Pour (Dec. 2007)
Tanzer's IWC (Nov. 2007)
Wine Advocate (Aug. 2007)


How is it drinking?
Vintage Chart

The Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Beaucastel 2005 is a blend of four estate-grown varietals, propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate.

The 2005 vintage was one of nature's lucky breaks, with excellent quality and higher-than-normal yields. The wet winter of '04-'05 gave the grapevines ample groundwater, and a warm period in March got the vines off to an early May flowering. The summer was uniformly sunny but relatively cool, and harvest began (relatively late for us) in the 3rd week of September. The grapes spent nearly a month longer than normal on the vine, and the resulting wines were intensely mineral, with good structure and powerful aromatics. Our first lots of Syrah came in on September 29th, followed by Grenache on October 5th, Mourvedre on October 11th, and (unusually for us, our last varietal harvested) Counoise on October 28th.

As with all our wines, the grapes for our Esprit de Beaucastel were grown on our 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard.

The grapes were fermented using native yeasts in open and closed stainless steel fermenters. After pressing, the wines were moved into barrel, blended, and aged in 1200-gallon French oak foudres before being bottled in May 2007. The blend of the 2005 vintage contains an unusually large amount of Grenache, which was so compelling that we made room for it by reducing each other component slightly. The wine is unfined and unfiltered.

The 2005 Esprit de Beaucastel is dark black-red in color, with a rich briary nose of black cherry, plum and rare steak, overlaid with sweet spices and mocha. The elegant, layered palate shows explosive fruit, with smoky and meaty flavors. Ripe tannins provide structure. The long finish reveals mineral and black cherry notes. The wine is showing remarkably well now, but should evolve elegantly in bottle for 10-15 years or longer.

Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Beaucastel 2005 Label