2011 Marsanne

Production Notes

The 2011 Tablas Creek Vineyard Marsanne is Tablas Creek’s second varietal bottling of Marsanne, the noble white grape of France’s Hermitage appellation. We use most of our Marsanne in our Côtes de Tablas Blanc each year. However, in 2011 we felt that the Marsanne was so complete and compelling, and so representative of the Marsanne grape, that we selected out two lots for a single-varietal bottling.

The grapes for our 2011 Marsanne 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 roughly three weeks later than normal, beginning in mid-September and not concluding until mid-November.  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. Our Marsanne blocks were harvested between September 29th and October 17th.

The Marsanne was whole cluster pressed, and fermented in stainless steel to emphasize its clean crisp flavors and preserve its aromatics. Only native yeasts were used. After fermentation, the wine was racked and blended, and bottled in June 2011. The wine underwent only a light cold stabilization before bottling.

Tasting Notes

The 2011 Marsanne shows aromas of peaches and cream, honey, and citrus blossom, with rich yet surprisingly bright flavors of pineapple, mango, and creamy minerality, a rich yet clean texture and long finish with tropical fruit and sweet spice. Drink it over the next five years.

Reviews

• "A wine of great subtlety and nuance": Bigger than Your Head (May 2013)
• 90 points; "clean, bracing, focused and light on its feet": Tanzer's IWC (Nov. 2012)
• 89 points; "bright, floral-infused fruit": Wine Advocate (Aug. 2012)

[...more recent Tablas Creek press]

Recipe Suggestions

• Mussels Mariniere
• Scallops with Butter & Bread Crumbs

[...more recipes]

Food Pairings

• Mussels Marinière
• Green salads with avocado and citrus dressing
• Scallops
• Light-fleshed fish (halibut, sole) with tropical salsa

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