2000 Côtes de Tablas

Production Notes

The Tablas Creek Vineyard Côtes de Tablas is a blend of two estate-grown Rhône varietals: Grenache and Syrah.The blend, like most wines of the Southern Rhône, focuses on the Grenache varietal. Syrah adds spice and mid-palate density.

The 2000 Côtes de Tablas is Tablas Creek’s first national release of its Grenache-based red blend, made in the style of a full-throttle Côtes du Rhône. The 2000 vintage was particularly favorable to the Grenache grape: warm sunny days through the ripening season gave the Grenache good sugars and excellent balance, while the low yields (2.5–3 tons per acre) produced intense flavors and chewy tannins. The Syrah was harvested on September 18th and 19th, while the Grenache was harvested between September 20th and September 29th.

Both varietals were fermented in stainless steel with the use of native yeasts: the Syrah in open-top fermenters, punched-down manually, and the Grenache in closed fermenters with pump-over aeration. After pressing, the wines were racked and blended, and aged for a year in 1200-gallon French oak foudres. The wines are unfined and unfiltered.

Tasting Notes

The 2000 Côtes de Tablas is a rich, juicy wine, with spicy aromatics of black pepper, licorice, roasted meat, and cassis. The flavors are intensely fruity, with blackberry and kirsch backed up by ripe tannins and impressive concentration.

Updated tasting notes from a September 2011 tasting can be found on the Tablas Creek blog.

Reviews

[...more recent Tablas Creek press]

Food Pairings

  • Grilled steak
  • Pastas with red sauce
  • Cassoulette
  • Coq au Vin
  • Spicy Sausages
Cotes de Tablas

Not Available for Purchase

Blend

  • 84% Grenache
  • 16% Syrah

Technical Notes

  • 15.6% alcohol by volume
  • 740 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

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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 »