2006 Vin de Paille (375 ml)

Production Notes

The 2006 Tablas Creek Vineyard Vin de Paille is Tablas Creek’s fourth bottling of this traditional Mediterranean technique for producing dessert wines. Ripe grape bunches are carefully laid down on straw-covered benches in our greenhouses, and allowed to dehydrate in the sun. When the grapes reach the desired concentration, we press them and move the juice to oak barrels for fermentation. The juice ferments until it reaches an alcohol level where the sweetness of the juice is balanced by the acids and mineral characteristics of the wine itself.

The 2006 Vin de Paille is a blend of four white Rhone grapes: Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Roussanne, and Marsanne. The grapes for our Vin de Paille were grown on our 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard.

The 2006 vintage was a study of contrasts, with a cold, wet start, a very hot early summer, a cool late summer and a warm, beautiful fall. Ample rainfall in late winter gave the grapevines ample groundwater, and produced relatively generous crop sizes. The relatively cool late-season temperatures resulted in a delayed but unhurried harvest, wines with lower than normal alcohols, strong varietal character, and good acids. Viognier began the harvest starting September 15th, followed by Roussanne and Grenache Blanc beginning September 27th, and Marsanne starting October 4th.

The wine, after pressing, was aged in new French oak barrels for 9 months before being bottled in May of 2007. It was released in October 2008, after another 18 months in bottle.

Tasting Notes

The 2006 Vin de Paille has a beautiful nose of honey, apricots and candied grapefruit, with flavors of caramel, nectarine, marmalade and spiced apples and sweetness balanced by citrusy acids. Its finish is lingering, with flavors of fig and peach. We expect it to age gracefully in bottle for a decade or more.

Reviews

[...more recent Tablas Creek press]

Food Pairings

  • Berry Tarts
  • Dessert Souffles
  • Baked Apples or Pears
  • Blue Cheese
  • Tiramisu
Vin de Paille

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Blend

  • 40% Grenache Blanc
  • 23% Viognier
  • 20% Roussanne
  • 17% Marsanne

Technical Notes

  • Sugar at Pressing: 340 g/l
  • Residual Sugar: 174 g/l
  • 12.2% Alcohol by Volume
  • 150 375ml Cases Produced

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