Tablas Creek

During last weekend's excursions I came home with a wine that I had been searching for in the local market for a couple of years.  In this case it was a Tablas Creek wine, the 2007 Cotes de Tablas to be exact.  Tablas Creek is a joint venture between  the Perrin family of Chateau Beaucastel and Robert Haas of wine importer Vineyard Brands and is located in the Paso Robles area of California.   This particular wine is 50% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 25% Counoise, or a good approximation of a nice Cote du Rhone.

There was a small sirloin steak for dinner so it was a red wine night.

Medium red in the glass the wine had a purple cast to the edges.  The nose was grapey with a suggestion of berries and a hint of anise.  Grenache dominated the taste but the anise from the nose also came through.  The depth of flavor was good and very fruity, but the acid was a little low.  The wine finished with some tannin but the last impression was of sweetness and just a bit of a bite, not surprising at 14.8% alcohol.

I love the earthiness in a good Cote du Rhone, and that was lacking in this wine.   I love the subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, hint of Brett in Beaucastel, but that was lacking here as well.

In short, this was a good, fruity wine with some depth of flavor.  At a sale price of $25.99 I can have all of this and more for $5 to $8 less in a good Cote du Rhone.   I applaud the effort and as the vineyard matures over the years I'll check back on this wine to see its progress.   Given its owners I'm sure it will improve.