2003 Côtes de Tablas

Production Notes

The Tablas Creek Vineyard Côtes de Tablas is a blend of four estate-grown Rhône varietals: Grenache Syrah, Mourvèdre and Counoise. Like most wines of the Southern Rhône, it is a blend of varietals, featuring the fruitiness of Grenache balanced by the meatiness of Mourvèdre and the spice and structure of Syrah. The 2003 Côtes de Tablas is Tablas Creek’s fourth release of its Côtes de Tablas red blend, made in the style of a full-throttle Côtes du Rhône.

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

The 2003 vintage was tremendous: warm and sunny, with cool nights that prolonged the hangtime of the grapes and led to wines with excellent acidity. A relatively early flowering, combined with a warm but not overly hot summer produced unusually long hangtime, and grapes with concentrated flavors and a distinct minerality. Our first lots of Syrah came in on September 18th, followed by Grenache on September 25th, and Counoise and Mourvèdre both on October 8th. The beautiful fall weather allowed us to bring in fruit when it was at peak ripeness, and allow other blocks to continue to mature. The harvest continued through October, with the last lot of Mourvèdre safely in the cellar on October 29th.

All varietals were fermented in stainless steel with the use of native yeasts: the Syrah in open-top fermenters, punched down manually, and the other varietals in closed fermenters with pump-over aeration. After pressing, the wines were racked, blended, aged for a year in 1200-gallon French oak foudres, and then bottled in June 2004. The wines underwent only a light filtration before bottling.

Tasting Notes

The 2003 Côtes de Tablas is a rich, spicy wine, with a juicy, meaty nose of rare steak, pepper and blueberry. The flavors are juicy and rich, with ripe tannins and a finish laced with licorice.

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

Reviews

[...more recent Tablas Creek press]

Recipe Suggestions

[...more recipes]

Food Pairings

  • Grilled steaks
  • Pastas with meat sauces
  • Rich beef stews
  • Spicy sausages
Cotes de Tablas

Not Available for Purchase

Blend

  • 60% Grenache
  • 24% Syrah
  • 12% Mourvèdre
  • 4% Counoise

Technical Notes

  • 15.2% Alcohol by Volume
  • 3000 Cases Produced

Downloads

Share
Upcoming Events

Paso Robles Rhone Rangers Experience 2/19

Join the 40+ members of the Paso Robles Rhone Rangers chapter for a seminar, lunch and tasting on everything Rhone and Paso Robles. Event tickets, including the seminar, lunch and grand tasting are $75, and tickets for the Grand Tasting alone are just $25. Details & More Events »

Tablas Creek News

February Featured Wine: 2009 Tannat

Each month, we feature a wine that we feel is showing particularly well, and offer that wine at a 10% discount.  The 2009 Tannat is dark and smoky, rich with fruit yet powerfully structured. The Wine Advocate gave it 90-93 points and called it "absolutely fabulous...with an opulent, full-bodied personality graced with exquisite inner perfume". Read more » or order online »

On the Blog: Mapping out Tablas Creek's future

February 1, 2012

It's been a busy couple of years for us. We expanded our winery, launched the Patelin de Tablas wines, and dove into Biodynamics. But perhaps the biggest investment we've made in the long-term success of Tablas Creek is the purchase of the 150-acre parcel to our south. Read more »