2004 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 2004 Côtes de Tablas Blanc is Tablas Creek’s third 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 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, and good structure. Unusually, there were periods of harvest when we were harvesting all our white grapes simultaneously. The Viognier was harvested between August 23rd and September 27th, the Marsanne between September 7th and 14th, the Grenache Blanc between September 22nd and 28th, and the Roussanne between September 10th and 29th.

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 June 2005. The wine underwent only a light cold stabilization before bottling.

Tasting Notes

The 2004 Côtes de Tablas Blanc is a blend in the style of French Côtes du Rhône 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

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Recipe Suggestions

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Food Pairings

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

Not Available for Purchase

Blend

  • 55% Viognier
  • 29% Marsanne
  • 8% Grenache Blanc
  • 8% Roussanne

Technical Notes

  • 14.5% Alcohol by Volume
  • 2300 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 »