Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel Rouge 2002
Rhone Red Blends
from Central Coast, California
winemaker's notes:
The Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Beaucastel is a blend of four estate-grown varietals, propagated from budwood cuttings from the Château de Beaucastel estate. The 2000 vintage is a richly intense wine, with aromatics of roasted meats, licorice and currants, and flavors of ripe cherries, blackberries, leather, earth and spice, held together in a velvety tannic structure.
The 2002 vintage was beautifully balanced at the vineyard: warm sunny days persisted through the ripening season, without the intense baking heat that can dampen the varietals' aromatics. Consistent warmth shortened the harvest, which began on September 18th with the Syrah, and finished with the last lots of Counoise and Mourvèdre on October 19th.
Native yeast fermentation was conducted in open and closed stainless steel fermenters and small oak "pieces". After pressing, the wines were racked and blended, and aged for a year in 1200-gallon French oak foudres before being bottled in April, 2002. The wines are unfined and unfiltered.
