VINsider News & Updates

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Announcing the Spring 2013 VINsider Shipment

We are excited to announce the spring 2013 VINsider club shipment, highlighted by the 2010 Panoplie. The shipment includes:

  • The Spring 2013 VINsider Wine Club Shipment1 bottle of Panoplie 2010 (Our elite wine made from our most compelling lots; 94-96 points, Wine Advocate, 94 points Tanzer's IWC and 94-96+ points Rhone Report)
  • 1 bottle of Grenache 2010 (A spicy, juicy and minerally varietal Grenache; 92 points, Wine Advocate, 91 points Tanzer's IWC)
  • 1 bottle of Syrah 2010 (Our varietal bottling of the Rhone's most influential grape from the cool 2010 vintage; 91 points, Wine Advocate and Tanzer's IWC)
  • 1 bottle of Patelin de Tablas 2011 (Our "neighborhood" wine showing Syrah's signature minerality and spice at a very approachable price; 90 points Tanzer's IWC)
  • 1 bottle of Cotes de Tablas Blanc 2011 (Our Viognier-based homage to the wines of the northern Rhone; 91 points, Tanzer's IWC)
  • 1 bottle of Dianthus 2012 (The new name for our rich, vibrant Mourvedre-based estate rosé; 92 points, International Wine Review)
  • Read complete tasting and production notes on the Tablas Creek blog.

The spring 2013 shipment shipped out Tuesday, March 19th. Will-call customers are now able to pick up their shipments at the winery. If you have received a notice from us that your information is out of date, you can update your information with our VINsider Update Form, via phone at 805.237.1231 x39, or via email at vinsider@tablascreek.com.

The shipment’s cost of $199.20, plus applicable shipping and taxes, reflects as always a 20% VINsider discount off the retail prices of the wines in the shipment. 

Reorders on the shipment wines are now available.  We have only very small quantities of several of these wines, so reorder quantities are limited. You can order, or view pricing and limitations, on our online order form.

Spring 2013 VINsider Shipment Tasting Party Sunday, April 28th

One benefit of the VINsider Wine Club is the opportunity, after each semi-annual shipment, to taste the wines in the shipment, learn what new projects we've been working on, and spend some unhurried time with the Tablas Creek winemakers and management. On Sunday, April 28th we'll be closing the tasting room to the public and dedicating it to our wine club members. VINsiders can reserve a specific time slot (10:30am, 12noon, 1:30pm, or 3pm) and we'll take each group through the results of the 2012 harvest, our Biodynamic efforts, and a tasting through the wines in the spring VINsider shipment, including the 2010 Panoplie. We will serve a small dish to pair with the whites and another with the reds.

Attendees also receive a day-of-the-event only extra 5% discount on additional purchases of the wines in the shipment. This tasting is open to VINsiders only (free) and their invited guests (up to 4 guests- $15/person). Contact us at 805.237.1231 x34 or email events@tablascreek.com to reserve a time slot. Other upcoming events »

En Primeur Offering on 2011 Esprit and 2011 Panoplie

Offering wine en primeur is a time-honored French tradition most often associated with first-growth Bordeaux estates. In outstanding vintages, valued customers are offered the opportunity to secure a limited quantity of sought-after wines at a futures-only 30% discount in advance of bottling and subsequent general release. Each year, we offer our VINsider club members the opportunity to taste our elite wines from our most recent vintage both on their own and paired with a seasonal lunch, to discuss the vintage with our winemakers, and to reserve futures. VINsiders received an invitation to the futures tasting and an en primeur offering in the mail in early November. The en primeur order deadline was Monday, December 10th.

VINsider Wine Club Collector’s Edition full for 2012

Collector’s Edition members have exclusive access to library vintages of Esprit de Beaucastel wines that we have aged in ideal conditions in our own cellars since the 2003 vintage. Members also receive an increased allocation of our newest Esprit de Beaucastel wines. Collector's Edition details »

VINsiders interested in the Collector’s Edition for 2013 should upgrade their membership. We plan to increase membership slightly before next fall's Collector’s Edition shipment, and members will be added to the Collector's Edition in the order in which their registrations are received.

Residents of Maryland, Hawaii and Maine Eligible for VINsider membership; New Jersey Next

We’re thrilled that Maryland, Hawaii and Maine have permitted the direct shipment of wine. Residents are now eligible to order wine or sign up for VINsider Wine Club membership. New Jersey, which passed a direct shipping bill earlier in 2012, expects to have the licenses and other paperwork ready for us by late summer.  Finally, other states, including Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, are debating shipping legislation. We encourage you to get involved. Learn more on our direct shipping news page.

Other Wine Club-Related Information:

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 »