2000 Clos Blanc

Production Notes

The 2000 Clos Blanc is Tablas Creek Vineyard’s signature white wine from the 2000 vintage, and the predecessor of the Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc. It is also the first Tablas Creek white to be predominantly Roussanne, and has shown Roussanne’s potential for aging.

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 throughout harvest produced wines with tremendous concentration, beginning with the Viognier on September 8th, and finishing with the last lots of Roussanne and Marsanne on October 16th.

All the varietals were whole cluster pressed, and fermented with native yeasts. The Roussanne was fermented half in stainless steel fermenters and half in small neutral oak “pieces”, while the other varietals were fermented 100% in stainless steel. All the varieties completed malolactic fermentation. The wines were racked, blended, and bottled in April 2001.

Updated tasting notes November 2005: Roussanne component predominant: a slightly nutty nose of honey, spice, and ripe pear. Fat and rich in the mouth, but balanced by moderate acidity, with flavors of honey and clove. A long finish with the spice resonating for 30 seconds. Drinking beautifully now, and should age gracefully for another year or two at least.

Reviews

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Recipe Suggestions

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Food Pairings

  • Lobster Bisque
  • Shrimp Scampi
  • Spicy foods (curries, gumbo)
  • Roast pork
Clos Blanc

Not Available for Purchase

Blend

  • 45% Roussanne
  • 19% Viognier
  • 19% Marsanne
  • 17% Grenache Blanc

Technical Notes

  • 13.7% alcohol by volume
  • 2857 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 »