2006 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc

Production Notes

The Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc 2006 is a blend of three estate-grown varietals, propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate.

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 grapes for our Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc were grown on our 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard.

The fruit was whole cluster pressed, and fermented with native yeasts. The Roussanne was fermented half in stainless steel fermenters and half in small oak "pieces", while the other varietals were fermented 100% in stainless steel. All the wines went through malolactic fermentation. The varietals were blended in May, after which the wines were racked, blended, cold stabilized, and bottled in July 2007.

The 2006 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc is a vibrant expression of the terroir of Tablas Creek. It shows aromas of honeysuckle, mint, lemon peel and spice, with rich Roussanne flavors of honey, rose petals and pear, a distinctive saline minerality from the limestone soils, balanced acidity and great length. It should drink well when young but will also reward time in bottle; we expect it to show beautifully for at least the next 8-10 years.

Updated tasting notes from a July 2011 vertical tasting can be found on the Tablas Creek blog.

Reviews

Read reviews on our Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc 2006:

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Recipe Suggestions

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Food Pairings

  • Cooked shellfish (lobster, softshell crab, shrimp)
  • Roasted or grilled vegetables (eggplant, asparagus, peppers)
  • Foods cooked with garlic and olive oil
  • Rich fish dishes (i.e., salmon, swordfish)
  • Asian stir fry
Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc

Not Available for Purchase

Blend

  • 65% Roussanne
  • 30% Grenache Blanc
  • 5% Picpoul Blanc

Technical Notes

  • 13.5% alcohol by volume
  • 1800 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 »

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 »