Tablas Creek Pinot Noir 2011
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Tablas Creek is a pioneer of California’s Rhone movement. Founded in 1989, it is the culmination of a friendship between two of the international wine community’s leading families dating back to 1967: the Perrin family of Chateau de Beaucastel and the Haas family of Vineyard Brands. After a four-year search, the partners chose Paso Robles, California for its many similarities to the Southern Rhone and began the lengthy process of importing vine cuttings, building a grapevine nursery, and creating an estate vineyard from the ground up. Today, the vineyards at Tablas Creek are proudly Biodynamic® and organic certified by Demeter USA.
Say the words “Paso Robles Pinot Noir,” and some folks might give you a funny look. After all, the region has become famous for Zinfandel, Cabernet and Rhone varieties like Syrah and Grenache. But Pinot? It turns out, however, that Paso Pinot not only has some history, but a very promising future. As in the field of real estate, it all comes down to location, location, location.
Pinot Noir was made here as early as the 1970’s, with further efforts coming in the 1990’s. But it couldn’t happen just anywhere. Typically the sub-appellations on the Westside, namely Adelaida, Templeton Gap, York Mountain and Willow Creek, which benefit from the cooling effect of the nearby Pacific Ocean, turn out the most impressive Pinot Noir, redolent of red fruit, loamy forest floor and floral tones.