Winemaker Notes
Intensely expressive of Roussanne on the nose: beeswax and honeysuckle, lemon bar and graham cracker. The mouth is luscious and textured, with citrus blossom, honey, and vanilla bean notes. The brightness returns on the finish, with notes of honeycrisp apple and saline mineral. Delicious now, but should evolve for two decades, gaining hazelnut and caramel notes with time.
Blend: 46% Roussanne, 28% Grenache Blanc, 14% Picpoul, 5% Bourboulenc, 4% Clairette Blanche, 3% Picardin
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Attractive nose with sliced lemon, honeysuckle, mineral and melon, followed by hints of spices and cream. Pure and textured on the palate, showing clarity and brightness before an elegant finish. 46% roussanne, 28% grenache blanc. 14% picpoul blanc, 5% bourboulenc, 4% clairette blanche and 3% picardan.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Esprit de Tablas Blanc, still a touch coiled from its recent bottling, has pretty aromas of baked apples, beeswax, flint and hints of musky perfume. The palate is light-bodied and creamy with focused acidity, delicate, floral fruit and a seamless, savory finish. Give it an hour in the decanter to unfold.
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Wine & Spirits
The lemon, salt and celery notes of grenache blanc (32 percent of this blend) offset the peachy viognier scents (38 percent) and create a dramatic tension, with flavors of apricot and ginger. Its texture is bright and emollient at once, with a firm phenolic grip to the finish—the contribution, perhaps, of the marsanne and roussanne in the blend.
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.
