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.

Villa Creek, 2007 Damas Noir, Paso Robles

the girl & the fig has a wine list newcomer that is 100% Mourvèdre.

In the spirit of the great wine producers of the southern Rhone and the bodegas of Rioja and Priorat, blending is what Villa Creek does best. The area’s finest Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Tempranillo Vineyards are just a stone’s throw from the west Paso Robles winery where these blends are produced by winemaker/owners Cris and JoAnn Cherry.  Delicious, complex, fruit forward wines that express the climate and terroir of Paso Robles are what Villa Creek is known for.

From the website:

"VILLA CREEK Mourvèdre Paso Robles Damas Noir 2007 Score: 91
Rustic and earthy, with a rich core of graphite, pebble, dried currant and berry flavors. Full-bodied, deep and persistent, gaining a touch of road tar on the finish, where this ends with great traction and chewy tannins. Drink now through 2016. 205 cases made. —J.L."  The Wine Spectator, September 2010

"One of my favorite wineries from Paso Robles is Villa Creek Cellars, which fashions innovative Rhone Ranger blends."   Robert Parker Jr. The Wine Advocate

Villa Creek Cellars recognizes the traditions of the old world while embracing technological advances of the new. Sorting tables are used pre and post destemming to ensure that all wines begin with clean fruit. Whole cluster fermentations add texture and terroir with a nod to tradition. Fermentations are slow and natural. Careful blending insures the creation of complex, well rounded wines. Vines are carefully monitored at the end of the growing season. 

Those with patience are rewarded with cool nights and warm days that allow the grapes to slowly finish the ripening process, complex flavors and textures developing along the way.Villa Creek wines are produced in very limited quantities to maintain a hands on approach, with 3000 cases being the largest vintage to date.

Vintage: 2007

Varietal: Mourvèdre

Elevage: “Barrel fermented in new French 500 liter Puncheons, 100% whole cluster, basket pressed, racked once off gross lees, 18 months maturation.”

Aroma:  “Explosive notes of blackberries, white pepper, nutmeg, salt water, and fennel.”

Body:  “Rich and lush without being fat. Boysenberries, sexy Asian spices, sea salt carmels, new saddle leather, with hints of cured meats and blue violets.  Firm yet integrated tannins that provide a pure long finish.  It will be a pleasure to see this wine evolve over the next 8-10 years.”

2007 Graves Grenache Blanc, "Monkey Wrench", Paso Robles

This wine has a touch of residual sugar but is nicely balanced with great acidity. It is lovingly named Monkey Wrench because it is a pain to make. They use only natural yeasts so it often has a stuck fermentation leaving a touch of sugar left. When there is enough acid and lively fruit to balance it out, they choose to let nature win and leave the wine as is.

Aromas: floral, lemon, pear, spice, burst of juiciness on the palate.
Body: medium to full
Color: yellow

Monkey Wrench" Grenache Blanc: the fruit was sourced from the west side of Paso, tank-fermented, green apple and citrus aromas, crisp acidity with some mineral notes

From the Grape Crusader’s Blog: Tasting Notes: “What a lively and unique wine. I love aromatic whites like gewurztraminer, viognier and grenache blanc. I love them for their uplifting and entrancing smells and I especially love them for their ability to always make the uninitiated say “wow!” The Graves Monkey Wrench is no exception. Very pretty floral aromas that float out of the glass. I smelled a lot of citrus smells as well as a hint of ginger and pikake (Hawaiian climbing jasmine plant noted for its fragrant flowers). Historically, grenache blanc has been widely grown in Spain and France. Only a smidgen currently exists in California. In the mouth were flavors of tangerine and apple as well as some mineral influence. I felt like you never really noticed an obvious acidic component in the wine, but you just knew there was one, because of the refreshed feeling your palate received after every sip. The texture was beautiful too as it was sort of a combination of juicy and silky. “

Winery Background: “This is a true artisan family winery built from the ground up. In fact, Hilary was 5 months pregnant when the vines were first planted in 2002. A little over 1,000 cases spread across four or five wines are produced. If I remember right, Hilary and Simon Graves bought the land for their vineyards in 1999, while they were both still in school studying viticulture and enology. They are completely hands on when it comes to farming their vineyard, but hands-off when making their wine. Although their operations are not certified organic, they do farm organically.”

Eat with: fig & arugula salad, toasted pecans, “Laura Chenel” chèvre, pancetta, fig & port vinaigrette

http://www.graveswinegrowers.com/

2007 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.

From their website: The Tablas Creek Vineyard Côtes de Tablas Blanc is a blend of four estate-grown white Rhône varietals: Viognier(38%), Roussanne(17%), Marsanne (25%), and Grenache Blanc (20%). The wine, like most wines of the Southern Rhône, is a blend of varietals, featuring the aromatics and fruit of the Viognier, the flavors and clean minerality of the Marsanne and Roussanne, and the crisp acids and rich mouthfeel of the Grenache Blanc. Like our Côtes de Tablas red, this wine is designed to be ready to drink young: at its peak from the moment of its release.

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 April 2008. The wine underwent only a light cold stabilization before bottling.

The 2007 Côtes de Tablas Blanc is a blend in the style of French Cotes du Rhone whites, and features intense aromas of stone fruits and minerals, flavors of apricot and Provençal herbs, rich texture, moderate acidity and a long peachy finish.

Aromas: peach, apricot, herbs, minerality
Body: medium
Color: straw yellow

Eat with: roasted Sonoma County half chicken, baby yukon gold potatoes, watercress salad, dijon vinaigrette.

http://www.tablascreek.com/

2006 Copain Roussanne, James Berry Vineyard, Paso Robles

From their website: Bees wax, lemon curd and fennel pollen aromas are pure and full on the nose. Crisp acidity buttresses the waxy roussanne character and keeps the zesty pear and lychee flavors lively on the palate. A beautifully seamless finish is long and pure with long lingering honeycomb like flavors.

The vineyard is located in Westside Paso Robles out Hwy 46 about 12 miles from the ocean and Hearst Castle, as a crow flies. The proximity to the ocean helps regulate the high temperatures often associated with Paso Robles and is further aided by tremendous diurnal temperature variations. Peak temperatures can reach the low 100-degree range yet dive into the low 50s at night, allowing for the vines to recover. These large temperature fluctuations between high and low create a very desirable "sugar to acid ratio". This, coupled with the high-lime, calcareous soils which do not allow for a lot of potassium absorption, keep pHs lower, even at elevated sugar levels, resulting in ripe fruity wines with a balanced underlying acidity. This vineyard's attributes aid in my syrah winemaking technique of including 50% to 100% whole cluster, dependant on vintage.Very small production winery in Paso dedicated to making organic single vineyard wines that are true to the varietal characteristics.

Aromas: lemon cream pie, white flowers, orange dreamsicle, fennel, beeswax
Body: Medium
Color: Straw Yellow

Eat with: spring pea pancakes, shaved carrots, yellow beets, pea shoots & carrot-ginger beurre blanc

http://www.copainwines.com/alt/Copain_Wine_Cellars/Home.html