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Reviews

Wine Advocate (February 2002)
Wine Advocate (August 2003)

In exceptional vintages, Tablas Creek Vineyard produces small quantities of Panoplie: a Mourvèdre-based cuvee from meticulously selected grapes, made in the model of Château de Beaucastel's Hommage á Jacques Perrin. Only 67 cases were produced.

The 2000 vintage was beautifully balanced at the vineyard: warm sunny days persisted through the ripening season, without the intense baking heat that can dampen the varietals' aromatics. Consistent warmth shortened the harvest, which began on September 18th with the Syrah, and finished with the last lots of Counoise and Mourvèdre on October 19th.

Native yeast fermentation was conducted in open and closed stainless steel fermenters and small oak "pieces". After pressing, the wines were racked and blended, and aged for a year in French oak barrels before being bottled in April, 2002. Panoplie is unfined and unfiltered.

The Tablas Creek Vineyard Panoplie 2000 is a barrel selection of the most intense lots of Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Grenache, all estate-grown varietals propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate. The 2000 Panoplie is a huge, deeply colored, rich, round and soft wine with powerful fruit flavors of raspberries, cherries, currants and blueberries. It has peppery spice, ripe tannins and a lingering finish.

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