- 0 Items
- Subtotal: $0.00
2007 Esprit de Beaucastel
2007 Esprit de Beaucastel Named Wine Spectator’s #33 Wine of 2010!
We are thrilled that the 2007 Esprit de Beaucastel made an appearance at #33 on the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2010 list. This is the fourth major publication to recognize the wine, with ratings of 95 points by Robert Parker, 94 points by Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, and 5 Stars by Decanter.
As always, members of the VINsider wine club received early access to this wine in the fall 2009 club shipment. The wine was also made available to VINsiders en primeur in the fall of 2008
Production Notes
The Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Beaucastel 2007 is a blend of four estate-grown varietals, propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate. The wine is based on the dark red fruit, earth, spice and mid-palate richness of Mourvèdre, with additions of Grenache for forward fruit, approachability and lushness, Syrah for mineral, aromatics, and back-palate tannins, and Counoise for brambly spice and acidity.
The 2007 vintage was the best vintage we’ve yet seen at Tablas Creek. Yields were very low (down between 15% and 30%, depending on variety) due to a cold and very dry winter, which produced small berries and small clusters. A moderate summer without any significant heat spikes followed, allowing gradual ripening, and producing red wines with tremendous intensity, excellent freshness and a lushness to the fruit which cloaks tannins that should allow the wines to age gracefully. Syrah began the harvest of our reds between September 5th and October 3rd, followed by Grenache between September 25th and October 22nd, the Counoise between October 11th and 30th and the Mourvèdre throughout October and completing the harvest on October 30th.
The grapes for our Esprit de Beaucastel were grown on our 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard.
The grapes were fermented using native yeasts in open and closed stainless steel fermenters. After pressing, the wines were moved into barrel, blended, and aged in 1200-gallon French oak foudres before being bottled in July 2009. The wine is unfined and unfiltered.
Tasting Notes
The 2007 Esprit de Beaucastel is delicious and unusually approachable right now, with a complex nose of red plum, ripe cherry, fresh figs and candied orange peel, a velvety, layered palate with spicy plum and cherry fruit, pepper and nutmeg spices, and excellent breadth. The finish shows more mineral, plum, and spice, and a little gentle oak from the foudre aging. It is delicious now, if very young, and should evolve elegantly in bottle for 10-15 years or longer.
Updated tasting notes from a December 2010 vertical tasting can be found on the Tablas Creek blog.
Reviews
- #33 Wine of 2010: Wine Spectator (Top 100)
- 96 points: The Rhone Report (Dec. 2010)
- 5 Stars: Decanter (Sep. 2010)
- 95 points: Wine Advocate (Aug. 2010)
- "A beautiful inky-purple monster": Wall Street Journal (Jun. 2010)
- "The best vintage yet": James Molesworth (May 2010)
- 94 points: Wine Spectator (Dec. 2009)
- 94 points: Tanzer’s IWC (Nov. 2009)
- 96 points: The Rhone Report (Nov. 2009)
- 4 1/2 stars: Piedmont Post (Nov. 2009)
- 95-97 points: Wine Advocate (Aug. 2009)
[...more recent Tablas Creek press]
Recipe Suggestions
Food Pairings
- Game
- Dark Fowl (i.e., duck)
- Richly flavored stews
- Lamb
- Asian preparation of red meats (i.e., beef stir fry)
Not Available for Purchase
Blend
- 44% Mourvèdre
- 29% Grenache
- 21% Syrah
- 6% Counoise
Technical Notes
- 14.5% alcohol by volume
- 4000 cases produced
Downloads
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 »
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: When Terroir Was a Dirty Word
May 15, 2013
Take a look at the seven-line entry of Frank Schoonmaker, America’s foremost wine expert and author in 1964, about terroir. His association, rather than the "somewhereness" the wine exhibits, is more of a taste of dirt, neither elegant nor elevated: "somewhat unpleasant, common, persistent”. My, how things have changed. More »