WTN: TablasCreek/Italian+Others..(long/boring)

We tried this week (4/6/11) the Tablas Creek Spring Release and Others:
1. TablasCreekVnyd GrenacheBlanc PasoRobles (14.2%; 524 cs) 2009: Med.dark gold color; strong very ripe/lush/
peachy some floral/carnations slight alcoholic nose; soft very lush/ripe/peachy some floral/perfumed slight
earthy flavor; somewhat short ripe/peachy/floral/carnations soft/ripe finish; seems moving right along for
an '09; riper than their whites usually are and a bit fat & porky; not the minerality the TCV whites usually
show; nice but just that; for early drinking; lacks brightness. $21.50
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2. TablasCreekVnyd Vermentino PasoRobles (13.1%; 1235 cs; Rolle grape) 2010: Light yellow color; fairly stoney/
chalky light floral/Rolle some mineral nose; tart some perfumed talk/stoney/chalky light floral/carnations
bit tight/wiry flavor; long chalky/stoney light floral/carnations rather minerally fairly tart finish;
a very attractive bright/zippy/wiry wine like those from Liguria; some like an Albarino w/ less perfume/floral.
$21.50
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3. Chateau MasNeuf Compostelle AC: Costieures de Nimes (90% Roussanne/10% Viog; 13.5%) 2008: Med.light gold color;
fairly lush/Roussanne/honeysuckle/perfumed talc light earthy pleasant enough nose; soft rather Fleer's bubble gum/
honeysuckle light floral/Roussanne slight earthy flavor; med.short soft Fleer's bubble gum/honeysuckle bit earthy
finish; speaks of Roussanne and pleasant enough, buut just that. $19.00
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4. TablasCreekVnyd Rose PasoRobles (14.5%; 59% Mourv/30% Grenache/11% Counoise; 1468 cs) 2010: Bright cherry/red color;
strong watermelon/cranberry/roasted peanuts bit earthy/perfumed talc some Provence-like nose; tart bright strawberry/
cranberry/watermelon/roasted peanuts slight earthy/chalky some Provence-like flavor; med.long tart bright/strawberry/
watermelon/cranberry bit stoney/austere finish; some like a Provence rose but not as tannic/austere and more fruit;
the roasted peanuts character gives this rose a rather odd twist; atypical Calif rose but likeable. $21.50
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5. Giuseppe Gabbas LiLLove DOC: Cannonau Sardegna (14%) 2007: Med.dark color;rather earthy/hot climate/rustic some
grapey/very ripe some unclean/goat pen nose; soft/fat/underacid rather overripe/grapey/earthy/hot climate bit
unclean/goat-pen flavor w/ no tannins; soft/underacid/porky very ripe/grapey/earthy slight unclean/hot climate/
goat pen finish w/ no tannins; no structure or tannins or acid; less goat pen then some; actually one of the
better Sardinian Grenaches I've had (damning w/ faint praise), but way overpriced at $33.00.
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6. TablasCreekVnyd Grenache PasoRobles (15.5%; 480 cs; 100% GrenacheNoir) 2008: Med.light color; strong ripe chocolaty/
strawberry/Grenache/candied/cotton candy slight alcoholic pretty/fragrant nose; bright cherry/strawberry/Grenache
bit lean/alcoholic quite tannic/bitey flavor; med.long bright/cherry/Grenache/strawberry somewhat lean/hard quite
tannic finish; not sure where this wine will go agewise; lots of pretty fruit, but fiercely tannic. $32.00
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7. Cantine Cipressi Macchiarossa DOC: Molise Tintilia (13.5%) 2005: Med.dark slight bricking color;some spicy/
peppery/cold-climate Zin some coarse/ruustic/earthy little fruit nose; soft/fat/flabby rather rough/tannic/
rustic/earthy/coarse little fruit flavor; med.short rough/coarse/rustic/earthy fairly tannic finish; some interesting
peppery character in the nose, but pretty rough/coarse on the palate w/ a paucity of fruit; overpriced at $24.00
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8. Cantine Vincenzo Ippolito Calabrese IGT: Calabria (14%) 2009: Med.dark color; rather herbal/earthy/green/underripe almost
Zin-like/spicy some green chile slight unclean/goat pen very unusual nose; soft/smooth candied/fruity bit green/herbal/
green chile light oak rather interesting/pleasant flavor; med.long soft/smooth fruity/candied bit green/herbal/earthy
light oak finish w/ light tannins; a rather unusual/interesting Italian red. $25.00
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9. Cantine Vintripodi IGT: Il Pellaro (14%; www.Vintripodi.It; Nerello calabrese) 2002: Med.light rather brown color; very
strong hot-climate/wet army blanket/goat pen somewhat oxidized nose w/ no discernable fruit; soft/flat unclean/goat pen/
oxidized coarse/old-Italian flavor w/ no tannins; med.short oxidized hot-climate/unclean/goat pen/mouldy army blanket
finish w/ no tannins; a tired old Italian wine; way overpriced at $24.00
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10. Chateau Flotis Elles AC: Fronton (13%; 90% Negrette/10% Syrah) 2007: Med.dark color; fairly strong earthy/black cherry/
licorice some pungent/tarry slight peppery/gamey rather interesting nose; soft rough/earthy black cherry/licorice some
pungent/mineral fairly rough/tannic slight bretty/unclean/wet horse blanket flavor; med. rough/rustic somewhat tannic/hard
black cherry/licorice/tarry finish; a rather rough/rustic country red that's interesting and a decent price. $13.00
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11. TablasCreekVnyd Syrah PasoRobles (14.1%; 476 cs; 100% Syrah) 2008: Med.dark color; light earthy/chalky some blackberry/Syrah/
spicy/boysenberry/black cherry slight peppery/spicy very attractive nose; somewhat tart earthy/blackberry/Syrahpeppery/black
cherry elegant flavor w/ modest tannins; long spicy/blackberry/Syrah/black cherry bit peppery/earthy very balaanced/elegant
finish w/ light tannins; not a very dramatic statement of Syrah but very non-Paso-like and a lovely/elegant/balanced/polished
rather understated Syrah at a good price. $32.00
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12. TablasCreekVnyd Esprit de Beaucastel Panoplie PasoRobles (14.5%; 54% Mourv/29% Grenache/
17% Syrah; 500 cs) 2008: Med.dark color; very perfumed/fragrant/elegant spicy/plummy/black cherry/cola light toasty/oak some
complex nose; somewhat tart lightly tannic elegant/plummy/black cherry polished/elegant/balanced flavor; very long plummy/
black cherry/cola light toasty/oak elegant/polished finish w/ modest tannins; not a powerful wine that would suggest long
aging but the balance may carry it out; a graceful/polished/balanced/elegant/understated EdBR; seems pricey for what it is now
but it may age into something very/very good. $76.00
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13. EdmundsStJohn Syrah BassettiVnyd/SLO Cnty (13.7%) 2001: Dark color; slight bretty/unclean/funky nose that clears to balckberry/
black cherry/Syrah/spicy bit pungent/tarry slight Rhonish attractive nose; tart ripe slight bretty/funky somewhat tannic light
black cherry/blackberry/Syrah/earthy slight pungent/tarry flavor; long tart slight funky/bretty slightly dried out some blackberry/
black cherry/Syrah/spicy/earthy finish w/ fairly ample tannins; seems to be moving right along and not living up to expectations;
or may just be in a weird place right now. Interesting wine.
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14. Novy Syrah SonomaCnty (15.1%) 2001: Dark color w/ slight bricking; very strong black cherry/ripe/plummy/chocolaty some pencilly/
oak bit complex lovely nose; soft strong black cherry/Syrah/plummy/chocolaty/cherry cough syrup some pencilly/oak flavor w/ soft
tannins; long rich/lush chocolaty/black cherry/Syrah/cough syrup fairly pencilly/oaked finish w/ modest tannins; probably near its
peak; lots of ripeness and almost Oz in style; very good drinking for $16.00
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15. Carlisle TwoAcres RRV RW (14.8%; Mourv/PetiteSirah/Valdepenas/AlicanteBouchet; 200 cs) 2001: Med.dark color; strong boysenberry/
black cherry/blackberry/Mourv some toasty/oak slight earthy/dusty/old vines bit southern Rhone complex nose; soft lush plummy/
black cherry/RCCola/licorice fairly smooth/rich/lush light toasty/oak some dusty/old vine flavor w/ modest/smooth tannins; very long
soft/smooth plummy/black cherry/Mourv/RCCola/DrPepper bit pungent/tarry light toasty/smokey/oak somewhat complex finish w/ light/
smooth tannins; lovely Twackers ad in a really good place right now.
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And the usual stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. GrenacheBlanc: This wine was a rare clunker from TCV. Seemed much riper and older than I would have expected;
and did not show the terroir/minerality the TCV whites normally show. They've just released a Patelin de TablasCreek,
partially made from purchased grapes in Paso, mostly WestSide, that is 50% GrenacheBlanc, plus Viognier/Roussanne/
Marsanne. The 2010 vintage. It's a lovely wine, speaks more of TCV GrenacheBlanc, and a real value at $20 ($16 VINsider).
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2. I think TCV is making some of the best RhoneBlancs in all of Calif. They tend to be very fragrant/perfumed w/ good structure.
The WestSide Paso paradigm for Rhone reds tends to be very ripe/huge fruit/fairly alcoholic/extracted along the lines
of Saxum/Jensen/TerryHoage. The TCV reds show much more restraint, more minerality, less Paso-character than most.
The Syrah and the Panoplie (my first experience with one) were a bit of a puzzle to me. I was expecting more impact and
drama from them. Instead, they were elegant/graceful/polished/balanced/nuanced rather understated kind of wines. I was looking
for more fireworks. Hard to believe that a Monktown attourney would give Panoplie a 95-pt score. The expected maturity goes out
to 2035. Sometimes, though, you just gotta believe. The Panoplie reminded me a lot of Geyserville. Often, upon release, it
is not a real drama queen; nice/pretty/balanced/nuanced wine, but just that. But, from experience, you just know the best is
yet to come. The Panoplie reminded me of Geyserville....you just sorta know (I don't) that the best is yet to come.
The TCV WebSite is worth visiting more frequently than I do. They periodically (about every month) offer up special
deals ($10 flat rate shipping for April). And, down in the corner, is the TC Blog. I forget just how good JasonHaas' blog really
is...one of the best in the industry. It's packed w/ information, and not just only about TCV. A very/very good read and it usually
takes me awhile to catch up on it (http://tablascreek.typepad.com/).
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3. Calabrese: I'm presuming this grape is the Calabrese di Montenuovo; which was discovered in a vnyd in Campania and later
found to be one of the parents of Sangiovese. Also found in Calabria as well. There is also a grape known simply as
Calabrese, which is the same as Sicily's Nero d'Avola. Roberto will have to help me on this one.
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4. Negrette: This is the primary grape of the Fronton AC, near Tolouse. Never seen a wine from Fronton, so jumped at it.
Rare to see Negrette in the USA. Supposedly, Negrette descends from Mavro ("black"), a rootstock grape from the island
of Cyprus. In the US, there were a number of plantings, under the name PinotStGeorge, up in the CienegaVlly; which Almaden
made, under the CharlesLeFranc label, as a PStG, back in the olden days. KennyVolk makes Negrette, first under his
WildHorse label, now his own label. The CharlesLeFranc, like many of those wines EdFreidrichs made, was pretty decent.
I thought the Ch.Flotis was a pretty decent, if rustic, peasant wine.
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5. Bassetti: When this wine first came out, it had a lot of tannins and a pretty high acidity. I thought it would potentially
be a 10-20 yrs Syrah. This btl seems to have put on more age than I expected. Or maybe it's just in a weird place right
now...I'm not sure.
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6. The last three wines were mystery wines that three different people brought, uncoordinated. All three were the '01 vintage. Weird.
Tom

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the tasting notes. Did you taste these wines at the Tablas Creek winery? One of the best tasting experiences I had in California was at Tablas Creek. They were very accomodating and kept asking me to try this wine or that wine, even after I had supposedly reached the limit. I really like their rose and the mouvedre. Their gardens were also quite beautiful when we were there in mid-April.

13. EdmundsStJohn Syrah BassettiVnyd/SLO Cnty (13.7%) 2001: Dark color; slight bretty/unclean/funky nose that clears to balckberry/
black cherry/Syrah/spicy bit pungent/tarry slight Rhonish attractive nose; tart ripe slight bretty/funky somewhat tannic light
black cherry/blackberry/Syrah/earthy slight pungent/tarry flavor; long tart slight funky/bretty slightly dried out some blackberry/
black cherry/Syrah/spicy/earthy finish w/ fairly ample tannins; seems to be moving right along and not living up to expectations;
or may just be in a weird place right now. Interesting wine.

I drank my only bottle about a year ago and this sounds nothing like that bottle. My bottle was the single best example of Cali Syrah I had ever tasted. Granted my experience in Cali Syrah is limited but nothing before or since has come close. You either had a bad bottle or as you note its in a wierd place right now.

Hi Tom,
Thanks for the tasting notes. Did you taste these wines at the Tablas Creek winery? One of the best tasting experiences I had in California was at Tablas Creek. They were very accomodating and kept asking me to try this wine or that wine, even after I had supposedly reached the limit. I really like their rose and the mouvedre. Their gardens were also quite beautiful when we were there in mid-April.

Nope...not at the wnry, Tom. This was the VINSider Spring shipment.
TCV is one of the best around when it comes to customer relations. Both JasonHaas and Tommy (marketing guy) are very/very good and
manage to inculcate the right attitude in all their hospitality employees.
Tom

Hi Tom -

Thank you for the interesting notes. I'm guessing that you have had past vintages of the Tablas Grenache Blanc - what were your thoughts on it? I had a bottle of the 2004 a few years ago and enjoyed it, even with the rather high alcohol. Haven't seen it since, however.

I was going to guess that Nerello Calabrese was a synonym for either Nerello Mascalese or Nerello Cappuccio, or maybe a Nerello/Nero'Avola belnd (Calabrese is a synonym for Nero d'Avola.) Turns out that - according to the Vitis International Variety Catalog, anyway - it is a distinct grape that is a cross between Sangiovese and Mantonico Bianco.

My guess is that the Calabrese in the Ippolito is indeed Nero d'Avola. I liked a few of the Ciròs from Ippolito at a tasting a couple of years ago, but am not familiar with any of their IGT wines.

Hi Tom -
Thank you for the interesting notes. I'm guessing that you have had past vintages of the Tablas Grenache Blanc - what were your thoughts on it? I had a bottle of the 2004 a few years ago and enjoyed it, even with the rather high alcohol. Haven't seen it since, however.
I was going to guess that Nerello Calabrese was a synonym for either Nerello Mascalese or Nerello Cappuccio, or maybe a Nerello/Nero'Avola belnd (Calabrese is a synonym for Nero d'Avola.) Turns out that - according to the Vitis International Variety Catalog, anyway - it is a distinct grape that is a cross between Sangiovese and Mantonico Bianco.
My guess is that the Calabrese in the Ippolito is indeed Nero d'Avola. I liked a few of the Ciròs from Ippolito at a tasting a couple of years ago, but am not familiar with any of their IGT wines.

Andrew,
Jason related to me that '09 was a pretty bif/blockbuster kind of wine. But it's been selling quite briskly. I prefer the higher minerality of the Patelin.
TCV's demand has been going up & up. Four-5-6 yrs ago, they were able to release some of the GB and other single varietals to their distributors. But since then,
demand has closed out mostly that option.
Thanks for the info on the Ippolito. It's not clear from their WebSite what's actually in there.
Tom

Tom -

Thanks for the information on the Grenache Blanc. As it happens, I am planning to open a 2009 Tablas Rose this weekend.

Tom,

where can I get some of that goat pen/army blanket wine?

Tom,

where can I get some of that goat pen/army blanket wine?

Coturri usually has some for sale, Oliver.

Mark Lipton

Good point.

Tom,
where can I get some of that goat pen/army blanket wine?

Easy, Oliver.....just about any Eye-talian wine you buy has those characteristics!!!
You had to have lived next door to the Utter's, who kept goats, Billie & Nanny, in a pen just 20 yrds
from my bedroom window; to relate. On a hot summer night...window wide open...ewwwwwwww!!!
Tom

I won't take that bait, Tom, nice try.