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2010 Grenache
Production Notes
The 2010 Grenache is Tablas Creek’s fifth varietal bottling of the signature grape of the southern Rhone Valley. The wine shows the bright fruit and tangy acidity of the Grenache Noir grape, as well as the characteristic elegance of the 2010 vintage.
We use most of our Grenache in our Esprit de Beaucastel and Côtes de Tablas blends each year. However, we feel that this is a grape whose bright fruit, spice and acidity lends itself well to bottling as a single-varietal wine as well. In addition, Grenache seems to improve more dramatically with vine age than any other grape we grow, and we have been increasingly impressed with its performance in Paso Robles the last few years. We first produced a single-varietal Grenache bottling in 2006.
The grapes for our 2010 Grenache 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. Grenache lots were harvested between October 4th and November 13th.
The Grenache grapes were destemmed and then fermented using native yeasts in closed stainless steel and upright oak tanks. After two weeks, they were pressed and moved to neutral barrels to complete their fermentation. The Grenache lots were blended in Movember of 2011, aged for an additional six months in a 1200-gallon foudre and bottled in May 2012.
Tasting Notes
The 2010 Grenache shows a composed, high-toned nose of mineral, plum compote, and cola. In the mouth it shows expressive sweet fruit, crushed rock, and wild strawberry, reined in by Grenache's classic front-palate tannins. The finish opens back up with mouth-watering acidity and savory flavors of watermelon rind and cherry pit. Drink now or for the next fifteen years.
Reviews
- "Earthy and briary ... deeply spicy": Bigger than Your Head (May 2013)
- 91 points; "supple, seamless Grenache": Tanzer's IWC (Nov. 2012)
- 92 points; "beautifully delineated, varietally expressive": Wine Advocate (Aug. 2012)
- 89-91 points; "textbook Grenache flair": The Rhone Report (Jun. 2012)
[...more recent Tablas Creek press]
Recipe Suggestions
Food Pairings
- Grilled steaks
- Pastas with meat sauces
- Rich beef stews
- Spicy sausages
Blend
- 100% Grenache
Technical Notes
- 14.8% Alcohol by Volume
- 733 Cases Produced
Downloads
Upcoming Events
Real Men Drink Pink, June 23rd
Join us, along with a dozen Paso Robles rosé producers for the ultimate summer wine revel! Held at Star Farms in San Miguel, complete with a half-acre blue lagoon pool, white sandy beaches and tropical palm trees, the afternoon begins with a rosé Grand Tasting and continues with great live music and revelry. Proceeds benefit the Cancer Support Community. Details & more events »
Tablas Creek News
Featured Wine for May: 2011 Cotes de Tablas Blanc
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: Tablas Creek is a finalist for Best Winery Blog
May 20, 2013
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 »