2009 Tablas Creek "Cotes Du Tablas", Paso Robles

This winery was started by the Perrin family of Chateau du Beaucastel and Robert Haas, importer and owner of Vineyard Brands Wines. All grapes are grown on their 120 acre certified.

Vineyard History: Robert Haas and the Perrin Family (Chateau de Beaucastel) founded 120-acre Tablas Creek Vineyard in the Las Tablas region of Paso Robles for the rough terrain and limestone soils that mirror the Chateauneuf du Pape region of the Rhone Valley from which the Perrin Family hails.  They were later joined by Neil Collins who spent about a year learning the winemaking process at Chateau de Beaucastel before becoming the Winemaker and Vineyard Manager for Tablas Creek. The vines that were brought over from Beaucastel include Mourvedre, Grenache, Counoise, Marsanne, Roussanne, Picpoul, Viognier and Grenache Blanc.


Winery Information:
Tablas Creek became certified in 2003 and all grapes used in the winemaking process are grown on the estate. The winemaking philosophy at Tablas Creek is minimum haman intervention, only native yeasts are used and the vines are trellised low to the ground to take advantage of the radiant heat left in the rocky soil.  All vines are hand pruned and harvested.

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 2010. The wine underwent only a light cold stabilization before bottling.


The 2009 Côtes de Tablas Blanc has aromas of minerals, herbs and stone fruits, the flavors of Provencal herbs, citrus and apricot which produce a moderate acidity with a rich texture and peachy finish.  Serve with light fish dishes and salads.

1570 cases produced.

Atmosphere, 2009 White Blend, La Prenda Vineyard, Sonoma Valley

Paul Hoffman, winemaker and proprietor of Atmosphere, has always loved the wine business and fine wines.  The magic of wine, he believes, stems from your surroundings while enjoying a bottle. Hence the unique name Atmosphere.  Atmosphere is a nice white blend of Marsanne and Roussanne.

Hoffman had nice things to say about the 09’ harvest: “The La Prenda Vineyard really did not want to let go of its fruit, but the Marsanne and Roussanne came in with great acidity and with decent weight - different than most.”  

From their website: Paul Hoffman has always had a passion for fine wines and the wine business. Having over sixteen years experience in hospitality, sales & marketing, distribution, winemaking/production, and business ownership, he has experienced the world of wine through many facets. 

Paul joined the Robert Mondavi Corporation in 2000. He moved up quickly through the organization assuming responsibility for wine education programs, developing a new sales function for private label wine, and enhancing and developing worldwide sales, marketing and educational programs for fine wine accounts. His organizational contributions in wine education resulted in his selection of the prestigious Michael Mondavi “Inspiration and Leadership” award.

In 2006, Paul had the opportunity to partner with a few outstanding winegrowers and harvest grapes from their vineyards to make wine of his own. These wines represent unique parcels of pristine vineyards in Sonoma County farmed with A+ quality in mind.

Located in western Sonoma Valley, bordering Carneros, the La Prenda Vineyard lives up to its English translation as “jewel” or “gift.” The site is very heavy, Montmorillonite clay that has a very high shrink/swell capacity. The vines are pruned cane with no spur and every other shoot is removed during suckering to immediately decrease the crop. We used a combination of Stainless, New and Neutral French Oak and aged the wine in those vessels as well. This method allowed us to capture the bright acidity and fresh fruit flavors of both varietals while weaving a small amount of oak to round out the finish.

50% Marsanne 50% Roussanne

Aroma: Apricots, pears, star fruit, spice, hint of oak

Body: Medium

150 cases produced

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