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tablas creek

Creek summer

[label]Tablas Creek 2006 Roussanne (Paso Robles) – Wax, ripe stone fruit, coppered cashews, and surprising balance; the usual fat and alcohol-tinged headiness is well-countered by fair acidity and a certain deftness of fruit. I suspect that this could age, and I’ve no reason to doubt it based on the raw materials at hand, but it’s quite approachable now. (7/09)

Tablas of contents

[label]Tablas Creek 2006 “Côtes de Tablas” Red (Paso Robles) – Though it’s no longer the bargain it once was, and there’s a good argument to be made that it’s not really worth the premium over similarly-styled Côtes-du-Rhône, it’s hard to deny the persistent quality and drinkability of this wine, which varies in complexity but gains a bit more polish with every passing year. All the purple, blue, red, and black fruits one could wish for, alongside earth and herb, and finishing with a pepper-dust grace note, yet smooth, round, and always ready with an extended, welcoming approachability. Californian, for sure, but neither brawny nor explosive…whether this is French-influenced winemaking or just an in-house preference doesn’t much matter; the wine is what it is. Very consistent, solid wine, and an easy case purchase for anyone interested in a wine on which they can rely. (7/09)

Mour or less

[label]Tablas Creek 2005 Mourvèdre (Paso Robles) – A fruit bomb, but a sufficiently structured one. A dark stew of fruit is lent a little leather and earthen blackness by the grape, and it’s an extremely enjoyable wine, but this is really very primary still. It would seem to have to stuffing to age, but I don’t really know for sure. (7/09)

Indian percussion

[label]Tablas Creek 2005 Rosé (Paso Robles) – Dead. (5/09)

Tablas Creek 2005 Rosé (Paso Robles) – Old orange, bronzed and with a background static of something vaguely metallic, like canned orange soda that’s been left just a bit too long. If one can get past that, the spice that’s developed is actually quite pleasurable, though the lack of intense, primary fruit leaves the wine’s alcohol – always on the high side for a rosé, though it’s among the majority of the genre in that sense – more present than one wants. There’s really not much to learn here, other than that this wine was much better in its youth…and as with almost all rosés, that was already a given. (5/09)

Without a paddle

[label]Tablas Creek 2006 “Côtes de Tablas” Red (Paso Robles) – While I wouldn’t say this wine swaggers, it walks with more polished confidence with each vintage. I presume maturing vines and maturing technique are to be credited, but whatever the reason, I feel as confident serving this wine to any gathering of New and/or Old World palates as any other California wine. (5/09)

Coverting to Robles

[vineyard]Tablas Creek 2005 Rosé (Paso Robles) – While this may be drawing the curtains a little bit, the show that’s still visible is quite entertaining. There’s a bunch of different explorations of the concept of orange (including the blood variety), then a pale red-berry rush of fruit, and later an autumnal sunset viewed through a rippling window from the comfort of a soft, fraying easy chair. It’s still hefty for a rosé, but the virtues of its twilight are now readily apparent. (2/09)

TCA, TC nay

[vineyard]Tablas Creek 2002 “Côtes de Tablas” Red (Paso Robles) – Corked. (11/08)

Tablas Creek 2002 “Côtes de Tablas” Red (Paso Robles) – Juicy and succulent, with a freshly-crushed handful of blue, purple, and black berries given a bit of heft from black soil and a good sun-drenching. Pure pleasure. (10/08)

Blanc slate

[bottle]Tablas Creek 2006 Côtes de Tablas Blanc (Paso Robles) – Grasping for easy acceptance, which it achieves with a quenching blend of stone fruit and citrus, yet blending salts and rocks into the palate that promise further development and a more sophisticated form of excitement down the road. Delish. (9/08)

Tablas Creek 2006 Côtes de Tablas Blanc (Paso Robles) – Approachable and puppy-like in its drinkability, showing a garden of fruit trees (white apricot, white grapefruit, yellow plum) with all its varietal fatness braced and beaten back by fine acidity; a true accomplishment with the grapes in question. I could – and probably will – drink a lot of this. Will I hold it? Only by accident, though I don’t doubt it will develop for a few years. (10/08)

Sacre-not-so-bleu

[bottle]Tablas Creek 2003 Vin de Paille “Sacrerouge” (Paso Robles) – Dates, prunes, raisins, plums. Fresher than that produce list would indicate, though, and with a strong core of iron. Yes, it’s volatile, but what sweet red isn’t? Very tasty and quite approachable, though I suspect there might be some salutary effects from age (some deleterious ones too; that volatility again). (8/08)

Vodka, kahlua, cream

[label]Tablas Creek 2003 Roussanne (Paso Robles) – From a dubious source, but holding well, with the palate a little broader than in previous bottles. It’s still thick with stone fruit lushness, with spice malingering in the foreground, but there’s a bit of snap to it that wasn’t there before, and it could be headed somewhere more promising…especially from good storage, which this bottle has not seen. (7/08)