2010 Mourvèdre

Production Notes

The 2010 Tablas Creek Vineyard Mourvèdre is Tablas Creek’s seventh varietal bottling of Mourvèdre, and showcases the combination of intensity and freshness of the 2010 vintage. We use most of our Mourvèdre in our Esprit de Beaucastel each year. However, we feel that the Mourvèdre grape, often pigeonholed as a blending varietal, can produce remarkable single-varietal wines. When we have particularly characteristic lots of Mourvèdre, we try to reserve a limited quantity for a single-varietal bottling.

Our Mourvèdre 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 and dark color at low alcohol levels. Mourvèdre was harvested between October 4th and November 18th.

The Mourvèdre grapes were destemmed and then fermented using native yeasts in a balance of small open-top and enclosed stainless steel tanks. After three weeks, they were pressed and moved to 1200-gallon foudres to complete their fermentation. The Mourvèdre lots were blended in December of 2011, aged for an additional six months in a 1200-gallon foudre and bottled in May 2012.

Tasting Notes

The 2010 Mourvèdre shows a nose of herb-rubbed roast, figs, balsamic and mint.  The mouth is cool and minty, very fresh, with nice dark red currant fruit, fresh herbs, mineral and a hint of sweeter fruit coming out toward the end, all surrounded by chewy tannins.  Drink it now and for the next decade.

Reviews

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Recipe Suggestions

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Food Pairings

  • Richly flavored stews
  • Pork chops with fruit reduction
  • Asian preparation of red meats (i.e., beef stir fry)
  • Bittersweet chocolate desserts
Mourvedre

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Blend

  • 100% Mourvèdre

Technical Notes

  • 14.1% Alcohol by Volume
  • 720 Cases Produced

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