Printable Restaurant/Shelf Talker

Reviews

Gang of Pour (Nov. 2006)
Stephen Tanzer (Sep. 2006)
Wine Advocate (Aug. 2006)
Wine Advocate (June 2005)

The Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc 2004 is a blend of three estate-grown varietals, propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate.

The 2004 vintage was excellent, with a very early spring balanced by a long, warm (but rarely hot) summer. The extended ripening cycle gave the grapes intense aromatics, pronounced minerality, and good structure. The Roussanne was harvested between September 5th and 29th, the Grenache Blanc between September 22nd and 28th, and the Picpoul Blanc in one day on October 25th.

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

The fruit was whole cluster pressed, and fermented with native yeasts. The Roussanne was fermented half in stainless steel fermenters and half in small oak "pieces", while the other varietals were fermented 100% in stainless steel. All the wines went through malolactic fermentation. The varietals were blended in May, after which the wines were racked, blended, cold stabilized, and bottled in July 2005. As with all our Roussanne-based whites, we then hold the bottled wine an additional 9 months before release, to allow it to fill out and gain richness and body.

The 2004 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc is a vibrant expression of the terroir of Tablas Creek, with aromas of honeysuckle, pear, spice and mineral, flavors of caramel apple, lemon peel and honey, excellent breadth and a long clean finish. It should drink well when young but will also reward time in bottle. We expect it to show beautifully for at least the next 5-7 years.

Updated tasting notes from a May 2009 vertical tasting can be found on the Tablas Creek blog.