Winemaker Notes
Pair with game dark fowl like duck, rich flavored stews, lamb, or beef stir fry.
Grape Varieties: 40% Mourvèdre, 30% Syrah, 21% Grenache, 9% Counoise
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made from 40% Mourvedre, 30% Syrah, 21% Grenache and the balance Counoise, the 2012 Esprit de Tablas is an elegant, supple and medium to full-bodied red that excels on is lively pure texture and overall elegant personality. Revealing perfumed notes of sweet cherries, black raspberries, ground herbs and underbrush, this moderately concentrated, balanced and overall pretty Paso Robles red will evolve nicely through 2022.
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Tasting Panel
Fresh and juicy with graceful style and elegant, juicy berry fruit; spicy, smooth and long. 40% Mourvedre 30% Syrah 21% Grenache 9% Counoise.
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Wine Spectator
Graceful and delicately complex, with a lively core of bright acidity that plays up a floral boysenberry aroma. Offers sleek flavors of raspberry, smoked spice and subtle bitter chocolate. Mourvèdre, Syrah, Grenache and Counoise. Drink now through 2021. 4,400 cases made.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.