Featured Wine for July 2009: 2008 Rosé We have a treat for this month's featured wine. The 2008 Rosé is a terrific summer wine, and we feel our best Rosé in years. Based on Mourvèdre, intensely fruity but structured and bone dry, it makes for great drinking on its own or with nearly any Mediterranean cuisine. Through the end of July, this limited-production wine is available at $22.95, and to VINsiders at just $17.55 per bottle. While this wine is in limited national distribution, this July feature is available exclusively through our online wine shop. [...learn more] Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc 2007 Released! We're thrilled to announce the national release of the 2007 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc. This seventh release of our flagship white wine is a product of the exceptionally intense 2007 vintage, and combines the richness and structure of Roussanne, the generosity and freshness of Grenache Blanc and the bright acids of Picpoul Blanc. It recently received 92-94 points from Robert Parker and 92 points from Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar. As usual, VINsider wine club members received early access to this wine in the fall 2008 club shipment. Learn more about the VINsider Wine Club.

Tablas Creek Vineyard was founded by the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel and Robert Haas, longtime importer and founder of Vineyard Brands. They chose the hilly Las Tablas district of west Paso Robles for its similarities to Châteauneuf du Pape: limestone soils, a favorable climate, and rugged terrain.

The partners imported the traditional varietals grown on the Perrins' celebrated estate, including Mourvèdre, Grenache Noir, Syrah, and Counoise for reds, and Roussanne, Viognier, Picpoul Blanc, Marsanne, and Grenache Blanc for whites. These imported vines were propagated in our on-site nursery. All Tablas Creek wines are estate grown and organically farmed.

Tablas Creek follows the centuries-old Châteauneuf du Pape tradition of blending chosen varietals, which produces wines that are more complex, better balanced, and richer than single varietal wines. Each varietal is hand-harvested when completely ripe and fermented separately. Winemaking, including native yeast fermentation and neutral French oak barrels, preserves the wines' ties to their soil, climate, and varietal character.

Our signature wines are the Esprit de Beaucastel, based on Mourvedre, and the Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc, based on Roussanne. These wines are rich, balanced, and ageable, and should reward time in bottle to mature.

Beginning in 2000 with the red and 2002 with the whites, we began producing our Côtes de Tablas, based on Grenache and Côtes de Tablas Blanc, based on Viognier. These wines are blended for clean, bright fruit and spice flavors, and should be ready to drink younger.

We have notes on our four single varietal examples of the core grape varieties in our blends. All are available in limited national release. These wines include the Roussanne 2006 and Grenache Blanc 2006, as well as the Syrah 2006 and Mourvedre 2006. We also have notes on our terrific 2008 Rosé.

We are proud to make available, exclusively from the winery, wines such as our Panoplie 2006, made only in great years in the style of Beaucastel's Hommage a Jacques Perrin. Other wines include the Las Tablas Estates Glenrose Vineyard 2002, our Counoise 2005, Viognier 2006, Vermentino 2008, Tannat 2006, Picpoul Blanc 2005, Antithesis Chardonnay 2006, and our three dessert wines: Vin de Paille 2006, Roussanne Vin de Paille "Quintessence", and Mourvedre Vin de Paille "Sacrerouge".

The Panoplie and all our other winery exclusives are available exclusively online through the TCV Wine Shop, or by visiting the Tablas Creek Vineyard winery.

Many of these wines, as well as pre-release items and special cuvées, are available through the Tablas Creek VINsider Wine Club.

If you have a bottle of Tablas Creek, and are interested in knowing how it's drinking before you open yours, you're encouraged to review our vintage chart, updated several times each year as we taste through our current and library vintages.