2010 Roussanne

Production Notes

The 2010 Tablas Creek Vineyard Roussanne is Tablas Creek’s varietal bottling of our most important white grape. The wine is exuberantly and elegantly in character of the Roussanne grape, with honey, honeysuckle, and pear aromatics, a rich, viscous mouthfeel with just a hint of oak, and a long, lingering finish.

We use most of our Roussanne in our Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc each year. However, we often have some Roussanne lots in the cellar that are so powerfully characteristic of the varietal that we feel it would be a shame to lose them in a blend. In these cases, we reserve a small quantity of this Roussanne for a single-varietal bottling.

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

The 2010 vintage saw healthy rainfall after three years of drought. The ample early-season groundwater and a lack of spring frosts produced a good fruit set. A very cool summer delayed ripening by roughly three weeks, with harvest not beginning until mid-September and still less than half complete in mid-October. Warm, sunny weather between mid-October and mid-November allowed the later-ripening varieties to reach full maturity. The long hangtime and cool temperatures combined to produce fruit with intense flavors at low alcohol levels. Roussanne lots were harvested between October 12th and 27th.

The Roussanne grapes were whole cluster pressed, and fermented using native yeasts two-thirds in neutral 1200-gallon French oak foudres and one-third in 170-gallon French oak demi-muids. The lots were left on their lees for 6 months, and allowed to complete malolactic fermentation. After fermentation the lots were blended, and bottled in August 2011. The wine underwent only a light cold stabilization before bottling.

Tasting Notes

The 2010 Roussanne has an expressive nose of beeswax, crushed rock, white tea, and jasmine, with spiciness emerging with air. The mouth is rich yet quite structured, with flavors of honey, stone fruit, mineral and roses. The finish is bright and spicy, very clean, with pear and chamomile notes.

Reviews

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Recipe Suggestions

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Food Pairings

  • Rich shellfish (lobster and crab)
  • Sea Bass
  • Mildly spicy foods (curries, gumbo)
  • Stir-fries in garlic and olive oil
  • Salmon
Roussanne

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Blend

  • 100% Roussanne

Technical Notes

  • 14.1% alcohol by volume; 490 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 »

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