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2016 Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Tablas

Removed from a professional wine storage facility

Ends Sunday, 7pm Pacific

RATINGS

94Wine Spectator

Combines structure with polish and substance, offering expressive raspberry, garrigue and smoked spice flavors that build richness toward refined tannins.

94Vinous / IWC

A highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black raspberry and cherry preserves, incense, baking spices and smoky minerals. Sweet, seamless and energetic on the palate, showing impressive depth as well as energy and sharp delineation to the intense red and dark berry, spicecake and violet pastille flavors. Finishes smooth, sappy and impressively long, with repeating florality and fine-grained tannins that add framework and subtle closing grip.

94James Suckling

Violets, rose petals, fresh blueberries, crushed stones, oyster shell and dried spices. Full-bodied with a tangy core of berry fruit, firm and structured tannins and a spicy finish.

93Jeb Dunnuck

...perfumed notes of raspberries, cherries, leafy herbs, and hints of violets. With medium to full body, a seamless texture, and beautiful purity of fruit, it has a forward, fresh, accessible style.

92The Wine Advocate

...pretty nose of desiccated roses, fresh blueberries, black and red cherries, loamy earth, sage brush, tobacco leaves and charcuterie. It's light to medium-bodied with intense, earthy fruits, a firm frame and good juiciness on the long, spiced finish.

92Wine Enthusiast

Exotic cherry aromas mix with mace and other rum-barrel spices on the nose... There's a burst of red cherry and tart strawberry on the palate, which then settles into a smooth suave texture.

PRODUCER

Tablas Creek Vineyard

Tablas Creek s a 120-acre estate in Paso Robles, on California’s Central Coast. It was established in 1985 when long-time wine importer Robert Haas and the Perrin family of Chateau de Beaucastel in the Rhone Valley decided to make wine together on the Central Coast. The friends purchased land in 1989 in the Las Tablas district of west Paso Robles because it resembled the land the Perrins own in France. Traditional Rhone Valley grape varietals were imported and the debut vintage was in 1997. The estate’s signature wines are the Esprit de Tablas, which prior to the 2011 vintage were called Esprit de Beaucastel. The estate makes a red and white, and both are Rhone-style blends. Tablas Creek wines are consistently well-rated, and Robert M. Parker Jr. has often rated them in the mid- to high-90s.

REGION

United States, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

Paso Robles AVA is midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and it is considered one of the West Coast’s most exciting winemaking regions. With its hot, sometimes searingly dry and sunny weather, it is especially good country for growing warm climate grapes such as Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. Because many Paso Robles wineries have been successful with blending these grapes into Rhone Valley-style wines, it is known as the Rhone zone of California. The AVA was created in 1983 and there are 32,000 vineyard acres. In late 2014 the AVA was divided into 11 smaller sub-appellations, so starting with 2015 vintages labeling will become more specific on Paso Robles wines, which will now also list sub-appellations. Located in San Luis Obispo County, Paso Robles, the town and its surrounding area, was traditionally a farming and ranching region. But from a few dozen wineries in the early 1990s to more than 200 today, the area is quickly becoming known for wine and risk-taking winemakers.

VINTAGE

2016 Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Tablas