2005 Côtes de Tablas Blanc

Production Notes

The Tablas Creek Vineyard Côtes de Tablas Blanc is a blend of four estate-grown white Rhône varietals: Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Grenache Blanc. The wine, like most wines of the Southern Rhône, is a blend of varietals, featuring the aromatics and fruit of the Viognier, the flavors and clean minerality of the Marsanne and Roussanne, and the crisp acids and rich mouthfeel of the Grenache Blanc.

The 2005 Côtes de Tablas Blanc is Tablas Creek's fourth national release of its Viognier-based white blend, made in a rich and aromatic style, yet with a clean minerality in the mouth, bright acidity, and a long finish. Like our Côtes de Tablas red, this wine is designed to be ready to drink young: at its peak from the moment of its release.

The grapes for our Côtes de Tablas Blanc were grown on our 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard.

The 2005 vintage was one of nature's lucky breaks, with excellent quality and higher-than-normal yields. The wet winter of '04-'05 gave the grapevines ample groundwater, and a warm period in March got the vines off to an early May flowering. The summer was uniformly sunny but relatively cool, and harvest began (relatively late for us) in the 3rd week of September. The grapes spent nearly a month longer than normal on the vine, and the resulting wines were intensely mineral, with good structure and powerful aromatics. The Viognier was harvested between September 22nd and October 8th, the Marsanne on October 10th and 11th, the Grenache Blanc between September 26th and October 26th, and the Roussanne (unusually, our last varietal harvested) between September 26th and November 7th.

All varietals for the Côtes de Tablas Blanc were whole cluster pressed, and fermented in stainless steel to emphasize the clean crisp flavors and preserve the aromatics. Only native yeasts were used. After fermentation, the wines were racked and blended, and bottled in April 2006. The wine underwent only a light cold stabilization before bottling.

Tasting Notes

The 2005 Côtes de Tablas Blanc is a blend in the style of French Cotes du Rhone whites, and features spicy aromas of herbs, stone fruits and minerals are followed in the mouth by apricot flavors, rich texture, bright acidity, and a long, clean peachy finish.

Reviews

• 88 points: Tanzer’s IWC (Nov. 2007)
• 90 points: Wine Advocate (Aug. 2007)
• 94 points; "mouthwatering": Wine&Spirits (Apr 2007)
• "Pure, clean and balanced": Santé (March 2007)
• 90-92 points: Wine Advocate (Aug. 2006)

[...more recent Tablas Creek press]

Recipe Suggestions

• Grilled Scallops

[...more recipes]

Food Pairings

• Mussels Marinière
• Green salads with avocado and citrus dressing
• Scallops
• Ceviche
• Light fish (halibut, sole) with tropical salsa

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