Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Easily my favorite of the 2011 whites, and comprised of 64% Roussanne, 26% Grenache Blanc and 10% Picpoul Blanc, the 2011 Esprit Blanc de Tablas offers up a beautifully clear, detailed and balanced profile with plenty of white peach, orange rind, buttered toast, cream and hints of hazelnut all emerging from the glass. Medium-bodied, silky and polished on the palate, with excellent acidity and freshness, this beauty can be consumed now, or cellared for a decade. Drink now-2026.
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Tasting Panel
A lovely, complete Rhone-style white with depth richness and minerality over a core of juicy green apple and citrus.
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Wine Spectator
Balanced and refreshing, this offers a toasted element, complementing the Meyer lemon, melon and peach flavors, rounded out by a lush body, juicy details and floral and mineral touches. Roussanne, Grenache Blanc and Picpoul Blanc.
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.