2002 Côtes de Tablas Blanc

Production Notes

The Tablas Creek Vineyard Côtes de Tablas Blanc is a blend of four estate-grown white Rhône varietals: Viognier, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc, and Roussanne. The wine, like most wines of the Southern Rhône, is a blend of varietals, featuring the aromatics and fruit of the Viognier, the clean minerality of the Marsanne, and the crisp acids and rich mouthfeel of the Grenache Blanc.

The 2002 Côtes de Tablas Blanc is Tablas Creek’s first national release of its Viognier-based white blend, made in a rich and aromatic style, yet with a clean minerality in the mouth and a very long finish. Like our Côtes de Tablas red, this wine is designed to be ready to drink young: at its peak from the moment of its release.

The 2002 vintage was wonderfully balanced, with warm days, cool nights, and a long, glorious fall. Low yields (2.5–3 tons per acre) produced concentrated flavors, while the dry-farmed vineyard emphasized the mineral character of the limestone soils. The white varietals were harvested roughly simultaneously through the second half of September, beginning with the Viognier on September 12 and concluding October 2 with the last lot of Marsanne.

All varietals for the Côtes de Tablas Blanc were whole cluster pressed, and fermented in stainless steel to emphasize the clean crisp flavors and preserve the aromatics. Only native yeasts were used. After fermentation, the wines were racked and blended, and bottled in April 2003. The wines underwent only a light cold stabilization before bottling.

Tasting Notes

The 2002 Côtes de Tablas Blanc is an excellent expression of the terrific 2002 vintage, featuring a bright Viognier nose of peaches and minerals, followed in the mouth by flavors of mango, melon and wet rocks, moderate acids and a long peachy finish.

Reviews

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Recipe Suggestions

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Food Pairings

  • Scallops
  • Shrimp salads
  • Ceviche
  • Light fish (halibut, sole) with tropical salsa
  • Green salads with avocado and citrus dressing
Cotes de Tablas Blanc

Not Available for Purchase

Blend

  • 36% Viognier
  • 30% Marsanne
  • 26% Grenache Blanc
  • 8% Roussanne

Technical Notes

  • 14.2% Alcohol by Volume
  • 2400 Cases Produced

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Upcoming Events

Celebrate Paso Robles Wine Festival with Tablas Creek

Join us for the Paso Robles Wine Community's biggest celebration! We'll pour Esprit de Beaucastel at Friday's Reserve Event and a range of new releases at Saturday's Grand Tasting. And all weekend we'll have special wines open at the winery and will be taking tours to visit our herd of sheep, alpacas and donkeys. Sunday 11am to 1:30pm enjoy Chef Jacob Lovejoy's small plates, free with a tasting. Details & more events »

Tablas Creek News

Featured Wine for May: 2011 Cotes de Tablas Blanc

In May, we're featuring our 2011 Cotes de Tablas Blanc at a 10% discount. In 2011, our Viognier crop was cut by 80% due to spring frost, leaving a tiny, intense yield of less than one-half a ton per acre. The resulting wine is rich and tropical, with stone fruits and honey, but at the same time firmly dry, with a very long, saline & mineral finish. Details »

On the Blog: When Terroir Was a Dirty Word

May 15, 2013

Take a look at the seven-line entry of Frank Schoonmaker, America’s foremost wine expert and author in 1964, about terroir. His association, rather than the "somewhereness" the wine exhibits, is more of a taste of dirt, neither elegant nor elevated: "somewhat unpleasant, common, persistent”. My, how things have changed. More »