2006 Syrah

Production Notes

The 2008 Tablas Creek Vineyard Syrah is Tablas Creek’s fourth national release of this classic Rhone varietal. The wine displays the character of the Syrah grape exuberantly and elegantly, with classic flavors of bacon fat, wood smoke, blackberry and mineral, and should reward time in bottle to mature.

We use most of our Syrah as a part of our Esprit de Beaucastel and Côtes de Tablas blends each year. However, we believe that Paso Robles is one of the world's great environments for Syrah, and in favorable vintages we try to reserve some particularly classic barrels of Syrah for a single-varietal bottling.

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. Syrah began our red harvest starting September 26th, with harvest continuing over the next four weeks. The final Syrah lot was harvested October 30th.

Our Syrah grapes were grown on our 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard.

The Syrah grapes were destemmed and then fermented using native yeasts in small open-top stainless steel tanks. After three weeks, they were pressed, and moved to a balance of new and old French oak barrels to complete their fermentation. The red wines were assembled in June of 2007, and as in 2005 we added a little Grenache to the Syrah for its lush, open fruit and higher acidity. The wine was aged for an additional year in 1200-gallon foudres before being bottled in June 2008. The wine is unfined and unfiltered, and should be expected to throw a sediment over time.

Tasting Notes

The 2006 Syrah shows a classic Syrah nose of white pepper, mint, bittersweet chocolate and black cherry. The mouth shows similar flavors and adds a mineral, crushed rock component on the long finish. We expect this wine to drink well for a decade or more.

Reviews

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Recipe Suggestions

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Food Pairings

  • Grilled steaks
  • Lamb
  • Cassoulet
  • Spicy sausages
Syrah

Not Available for Purchase

Blend

  • 90% Syrah
  • 10% Grenache

Technical Notes

  • 14.5% Alcohol by Volume
  • 900 Cases Produced

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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 »

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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 »