2003 Vermentino

Production Notes

The 2003 Tablas Creek Vineyard Vermentino is Tablas Creek’s second bottling of this traditional Mediterranean varietal, known principally in Sardinia, Corsica, and Northern Italy. It is also grown in the Rhone Valley (particularly Côtes de Provence) where it is known as Rolle. The Vermentino grape produces wines that are bright, clean, and crisp, with distinctive citrus character, refreshing acidity and surprising richness.

When we imported our Châteauneuf du Pape clones, our contact in the French nursery service included the Vermentino because he believed it would thrive in the rocky limestone soils of Paso Robles. We have planted about an acre of Vermentino, and it has indeed thrived here.

The 2003 vintage was tremendous: warm and sunny, with cool nights that prolonged the hangtime of the grapes and led to wines with excellent acidity. A relatively early flowering, combined with a warm but not overly hot summer produced unusually long hangtime, and grapes with concentrated flavors and a distinct minerality. The Vermentino was harvested in one day on September 24.

The Vermentino grapes were whole cluster pressed, and fermented using native yeasts in stainless steel to emphasize the minerality of the grapes. To further retain the bright citrus character of the wine, we prevented it from going through malolactic fermentation. The wine was bottled in April 2004.

As part of our ongoing research on different closure types, we bottled a portion of this wine in traditional cork finish, and a portion in Stelvin screwcap. We encourage you to try them side-by-side to see the difference in flavors.

The 2003 Vermentino shows a clean, mineral nose featuring peppered citrus and pear. Flavors of green apple and lime are heightened by refreshing acidity, good richness, no evidence of oak and a lingering finish.

Reviews

[...more recent Tablas Creek press]

Recipe Suggestions

[...more recipes]

Food Pairings

  • Nearly any fresh seafood
  • Oysters on the half shell
  • Aioli or Pestos
  • Linguine with clam sauce
  • Stir fried green vegetables
Vermentino

Not Available for Purchase

Blend

  • 100% Vermentino

Technical Notes

  • 14.2% Alcohol by Volume
  • 250 Cases Produced

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