2011 Vermentino

Production Notes

The 2011 Tablas Creek Vineyard Vermentino is Tablas Creek’s tenth 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 Vermentino because he believed it would thrive in the rocky limestone soils of Paso Robles. We have planted two small blocks of Vermentino, and it has indeed thrived here.

Our Vermentino grapes were grown on our 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard.

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.  Despite the low crop loads, ripening was slow due to a very cool summer, and harvest was roughly three weeks later than normal.  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 Vermentino blocks were harvested between September 20th and October 3rd.

The Vermentino grapes were whole cluster pressed, and fermented using native yeasts in stainless steel to emphasize the minerality of the grapes. The wine was bottled in February 2012.

Tasting Notes

The 2011 Vermentino shows an exuberant, perfumed nose of citrus leaf, meyer lemon, passion fruit and key lime. In the mouth, an initial impression of richness quickly turns crisp, with great acids, just a hint of tropical fruit, and a long, bright, lemon-lime finish.

Reviews

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Recipe Suggestions

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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

  • 13.1% Alcohol by Volume
  • 825 cases produced

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We are proud to have been named a finalist for "Best Winery Blog" at the 2013 Wine Blog Awards. This is the sixth consecutive year we've been finalists, and we've taken home the trophy twice, in 2008 and 2011. We'd love to make the 2013 awards a three-peat, and look back at nine favorite posts of the last year. More »