2011 Patelin de Tablas Blanc

Production Notes

The Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas Blanc is a blend of four white Rhône varietals: Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Roussanne, and Marsanne. The wine incorporates fruit from eleven top Rhone vineyards in Paso Robles, each vineyard selected for its quality. Like many white wines from the Southern Rhône, it is based on the crisp acids and rich mouthfeel of Grenache Blanc, with Viognier added for floral, tropical aromatics, and small additions of Roussanne and Marsanne for structure.

The 2011 vintage was our second consecutive winter with healthy rainfall, but yields were dramatically reduced by two nights of frost on April 8th and 9th, impacting particularly Viognier and Grenache Blanc.  Despite the low crop loads, ripening was slow due to a very cool summer, and harvest was roughly three weeks later than normal.  Warm, sunny weather during harvest allowed the later-ripening varieties to reach full maturity. The long hangtime and low yields combined to produce fruit with notable richness balanced by higher than usual acidity, all at low alcohol levels. The grapes were harvested between September 15th and November 5th.

All varietals for the Patelin 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 March 2012.

Vineyard Sources

  • 22% Tablas-clone Grenache Blanc from Catherine’s Vineyard in the limestone-rich El Pomar region of Templeton
  • 17% Viognier from the biodynamically-farmed Chequera Vineyard in the cool Templeton Gap
  • 14% Tablas-clone Viognier and Roussanne from Paso Ridge Vineyard in El Pomar
  • 11% Viognier from Hidden Valley Vineyard in the Templeton Gap
  • 8% Tablas-clone Roussanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc from the Edward Sellers Vineyard in the Templeton Gap
  • 6% Viognier from Paso Uno Vineyard in El Pomar
  • 5% Tablas-clone Grenache Blanc from La Vista Vineyard in the Adelaida Hills just east of Tablas Creek.
  • 5% Roussanne from the cerified organic Tablas Creek estate vineyard.
  • 4% Tablas-clone Grenache Blanc from the Dawson’s Creek Vineyard in El Pomar
  • 4% Tablas-clone Grenache Blanc from Burbank Ranch in El Pomar
  • 4% Tablas-clone Grenache Blanc from Briarwood Vineyard in the Templeton Gap

Tasting Notes

The 2011 Patelin de Tablas Blanc shows fruity, floral aromas of honeysuckle, apricot and candied grapefruit, with a spicy mineral note emerging with air.  In the mouth it's mouth-filling with peach and lemon zest flavors and a creamy texture, but kept fresh by vibrant acids.  The finish is long, rich and clean, with lingering flavors of peach and mineral.  Drink now and for the next 2-3 years.

Reviews

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Recipe Suggestions

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Food Pairings

  • Seafood cooked with garlic and white wine
  • Green salads with avocado and citrus dressing
  • Lemon chicken
  • Scallops
  • Light-fleshed fish with tropical salsa
Patelin de Tablas Blanc

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Blend

  • 45% Grenache Blanc
  • 34% Viognier
  • 18% Roussanne
  • 3% Marsanne

Technical Notes

  • 13.5% Alcohol by Volume
  • 2900 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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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 »