2004 Esprit de Beaucastel

2004 Esprit de Beaucastel: 5 Stars from Decanter

We are thrilled to announce that the 2004 Esprit de Beaucastel received Decanter Magazine’s highest rating (5 stars) in their August 2007 California supplement. This follows Robert Parker’s 92-point rating and Steve Tanzer’s 92+ point rating in the International Wine Cellar.

The 2004 Esprit de Beaucastel was released to VINsider wine club members in the September 2006 club shipment. We have details on the VINsider Wine Club.

Production Notes

The Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Beaucastel 2004 is a blend of four estate-grown varietals, propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate.

The 2004 vintage was excellent, with a very early spring balanced by a long, warm (but rarely hot) summer. The extended ripening cycle gave the grapes intense aromatics, pronounced minerality, good acids, and good structure. Our first lots of Syrah came in on September 3rd, followed by Grenache on September 17th, and Counoise September 30th. An early onset of the fall rains on October 14th stopped harvest for a short time, but two weeks of sunny, cool, and breezy temperatures allowed us to harvest most of the rest of the Mourvèdre between October 23rd and 25th. A final lot of Mourvèdre, harvested on November 18th (our latest harvest ever) completed the 2004 vintage.

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 June 2006. The wine is unfined and unfiltered.

The 2004 Esprit de Beaucastel is dark black-red in color, with a rich briary nose of dark red fruit (plum and currant), sweet spices (nutmeg, clove) and mocha. The elegant, layered palate shows spicy plum and cherry fruit, smoky, meaty flavors, and ripe tannins. The long finish reveals mineral and black cherry. The wine is showing remarkably well now, but 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

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Recipe Suggestions

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Food Pairings

  • Game
  • Dark Fowl (i.e., duck)
  • Richly flavored stews
  • Lamb
  • Asian preparation of red meats (i.e., beef stir fry)
Esprit de Beaucastel

Not Available for Purchase

Blend

  • 50% Mourvèdre
  • 27% Syrah
  • 17% Grenache
  • 6% Counoise

Technical Notes

  • 14.5% alcohol by volume
  • 3250 cases produced

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