Professional Ratings

• 96 Vinous

  The 2015 Esprit de Tablas is still youthfully coiled, with an intense mix of crushed stone, grilled herbs and spice engulfing crushed blackberries. This comes to life on the palate, cooling, fresh and quite classic in feel, with ripe wild berry fruits and mineral tones beneath an air of pretty violet florals. Still structured with crunchy tannins, the 2015 keeps the mouth watering for more as nuances of citrus-tinged raspberry slowly fade. Another few years should place the 2015 into a perfect drinking window, and I’d expect it to stay there for well up to a decade. Of note, this was the first vintage that Tablas Creek farmed through 100% biodynamic practices. It was also a low-yielding year, following four vintages of drought.

• 93 Jeb Dunnuck
  Moving to 2015 reds, of which there are just two I hadn’t tasted from bottle, the 2015 Esprit de Tablas checks in as a blend of 49% Mourvèdre, 25% Grenache, 21% Syrah, and the rest Counoise that spent 22 months in larger, neutral oak foudres. This layered, ripe, even sexy red offers impressive notes of kirsch and blackberry fruits, notes of lavender, spice, and flowers, full body, and a textured, lengthy, pure finish. It will keep for 15+ years, although it will be approachable with just short-term cellaring.
• 92 Wine Enthusiast

  Elegance is prominent on this flagship blend of 49% Mourvèdre, 25% Grenache, 21% Syrah and 5% Counoise, starting with dried red flowers, dark red berries, char, wood spice and pepper dust on the nose. Red plums rise on the palate, lifted by fresh herbs, proving light on its feet yet redolent with compelling flavors and tons of body.

• 92 Wine Spectator

  Precise and well-structured, yet savory and expressive, with loamy mineral, dried cherry, smoky anise and black pepper flavors that build complexity toward broad-shouldered tannins. Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah and Counoise. Drink now through 2026.

• 90 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  Composed of 49% Mourvèdre, 25% Grenache, 21% Syrah and 5% Counoise, the 2015 Esprit de Tablas offers up a medium garnet-purple color and nose of dusty earth, moss-covered bark, black tea and charcoal with baked currants and mulberries plus a touch of spice box. Full-bodied, firmly structured and expressive in the mouth, it presents lovely savory and black berry layers with a lingering earthiness on the finish.