We tasted last night the new TCV releases plus some older ones:
1. TablasCreekVnyd Viognier Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (12.9%) 2016: Med.light gold color; fairly fragrant pear/Viog/floral bit spicy very slight nutty less intense Viog nose; bit soft light pear/Viog/floral slight chalky slight nutty bit complex flavor; med.long lighter Viog/pear/floral finish; a rather subdued/quiet somewhat unthrilling Viog showing a tiny bit of evolution.
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2. TablasCreekVnyd Viognier Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (12.5%) 2020: Pale yellow color; bit stronger perfumed/floral/Viog/pear/appley light spicy/nutmeg much simpler nose; lightly tart light Viog/floral/pear rather simple/quiet/mild-mannered flavor; med.short strong floral/Viog/pear rather simple finish; shows more floral/Viog character but a bit on the simple/quiet/light-weight side; may put on some weight w/ a yr's age but a pretty quiet expression of Viog. $35.00/$28.00 (VIN)
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3. TablasCreekVnyd GrenacheBlanc Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (13.4%) 2017: Med.light gold color; lovely floral/honeysuckle/GB very aromatic some Mosel valve oil/petrol very slight nutty light pencilly/oak rather complex beautiful aromatic nose; lightly tart lovely GB/floral/honeysuckle/honeyed light petrol/Mosel valve oil complex beautiful flavor; very long/linger very strong GB/floral/honeysuckle/honeycomb beautiful finish; starting to show some evolution & an interesting Mosel valve oil character; probably has at least another 5 yrs in it.
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4. TablasCreekVnyd GrenacheBlanc Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (13.0%) 2020: Very light yellow color; lighter pure GB/honeysuckle bit simpler very fragrant nose; lightly tart somewhat simpler pure GB/honeysuckle/floral light chalky rather lighter flavor; long lightly tart very floral/pure GB/honeysuckle finish; a bit simpler now w/ more pure GB character but sure to put on weight & become much more interesting w/ a few yrs of age. $30.00/$24.00 (VIN)
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5. TablasCreekVnyd EspritBlanc de Tablas Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (13.0%; 55% Roussanne/
28% GrenacheBlanc/17% PicpoulBlanc) 2015: Med.gold color; very fragrant very floral/honeysuckle/honeyed/honeycomb/Rouss bit pencilly/oak fairly complex light chalky lovely perfumed nose; lightly tart very rich/lush very strong floral/honeysuckle/Rouss/honeycomb light pencilly/oak fairly complex flavor; very long/lingering strong floral/honeysuckle/Rouss bit chalky/mineral light pencilly/oak some complex finish; speaks strongly of Rouss; showing a bit of complexity & evolving nicely but will only get better in the btl over the next 6-10 yrs; quite a lvely EspritBlanc.
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6. TablasCreekVnyd EspritBlanc de Tablas Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (13.0%; 63% Roussanne/
20% GrenacheBlanc/14% PicpoulBlanc/3% picardin) 2019: Light gold color; very strong floral/Rouss/honeysuckle very slight chalky/mineral very perfumed nose; lightly tart very balanced strong Rouss/floral/honeysucklr very slight chalky rather rich/lush somewhat simpler/pure Rouss flavor; very long strong Rouss/honeysuckle/floral simpler slight mineral bit pencilly/oak finish; loads of pure Rouss character & much simpler now but sure to put on weight & get much better over the next 10 yrs. $50.00/$40.00 (VIN)
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7. TablasCreekVnyd Syrah Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (14.0%) 2019: Dark color; fairly strong Syrah/blackberry/blueberry/fairly spicy light toasty/oak/smokey bit earthy much stronger pure blackberry nose; fairly tart/tangy some blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/spicy light toasty/oak flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; very long strong blueberry/blackberry/Syrah/spicy bit earthy light toasty/oak finish w/ modest tannins; quite a pleasant/attractive Syrah but not particularly distinguished.
$40.00/$32.00 (VIN)
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8. TablasCreekVnyd Syrah Estate/Adelaida Dist/PasoRobles (13.6%) 2017: Dark color; stronger pencilly/oak/smokey some blackberry/Syrah/spicy/bit peppery slightly complex nose; lightly tart/tangy some blackberry/Syrah/spicy light toasty/oak bit complex flavor w/ light tangy tannins; very long some blackberry/Syrah/very spicy light toasty/oak/pencilly bit complex finish w/ light tannins; a rather pretty quite spicy Syrah but not particularly distinguished in terms of Paso Syrahs. $32.00 (VIN)/$40.00
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9. TablasCreekVnyd EnGoblet Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (14.0%; 37% Grenache/33% Mourvedre/
20% Syrah/8% Counoise/2% Tannat) 2019: Dark color; very strong blackberry/strawberry/Grenache/riper/boysenberry some toasty/oak some spicy/peppery bit complex nose; lightly tart fairly rich/structured strong blackberry/strawberry/mostly Grenache light toasty/oak bit complex flavor w/ ample ripe tannins; very long/lingering strong blackberry/strawberry/boysenberry/ripe/mostly Grenache rugged/structured light toasty/oak bit complex finish w/ ample tannins; needs much age; speaks mostly of Grenache & not so much of Mourv; a fairly big/structured/bit rugged red for TCV. $55.00/$44.00 (VIN)
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9a. TablasCreekVnyd EnGoblet Estate/PasoRobles (29% Mourv/27% Grenache/26% Tannat/18% Syrah; 13.9%) 2011: Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; strong plummy/fairly blackberry/Mourv/bit strawberry light earthy some Rhonish/CdP-like/whole-cluster light toasty/oak fairly complex nose; lightly tart rather strong blackberry/plummy/Mourv some Rhonish/w-c/CdP-like/bit peppery nbit earthy light toasty/oak/pencilly rather rich/lush fairly structured rather complex flavor w/ some smooth/ripe tannins; very long/lingering rather structured strong blackberry/plummy/Mourv/strawberry some w-c/CdP-like/Rhonish light toasty/oak complex finish w/ modest/smooth tannins; big for a TCV red this old w/ loads of fruit & showing a bit of CdP character but distinctly Calif; probably as good as it'll ever be.
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10. TablasCreekVnyd Esprit de Tablas Estate/AdelaidaDist/PasoRobles (13.5%; 39% Mourvedre/
30% Grenache/21% Syrah/10% Counoise) 2019: Very dark color; very strong plummy/Mourv/licorice/slight strawberry/bit peppery light pencilly/oak slight Rhonish/roasted quite spicy bit complex nose; somewhat tart strong plummy/strawberry/Mourv bit licorice/pungent light pencilly/oak balanced complex flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; very long/lingering lightly tart strong plummy/Mourv/strawberry/fairly spicy/bit licorice/pungent light pencilly/oak some complex finish w/ some ripe tannins; a classic EdT w/ loads of Mourv fruit that wil easily got out 10 yrs or longer. $60.00/$48.00 (VIN)
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11. TablasCreekVnyd Esprit de Beaucastel Estate/PasoRobles (14.5%; 45% Mourv/30% Grenache/
21% Syrah/4% Counoise) 2010: Very dark color w/ little bricking; some pencilly/oak quite Rhonish/CdP-like some earthy strong plummy/Mourv/bit peppery rather complex nose; bit soft fairly Rhonish/CdP-like/earthy slight tangy/metallic strong plummy/Mourv/bit peppery/spicy slight pencilly/oak fully mature fairly complex flavir w/ light smooth tannins; very long/lingering quite pencilly/cedary very CdP-like/Rhonish/earthy fairly plummy/Mourv/bit strawberry fairly complex finish w/ light smooth tannins; lots of fully mature/Rhonish/CdP-like character w/ tannins fully resolved; probably as good as it'll ever get.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Viognier: I've always been somewhat underwhelmed by the TCV Viogniers. They are usually pretty Viogs, but just that. I think I'd like them better of they moved a bit more towards DollyParton territory.
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2. GrenacheBlanc: These two were easily my favorites of these wines. I would bet TCV will have the GB'20 as their monthly special sometime down the road at < $20/btl.
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3. Syrah: The TCV Syrahs have always been a puzzle to my mind. It, like their Viogniers, are nice/pleasant wines but never seem to rise to the level of their Esprit or several other of their reds and never seem to evolve as well. Again, I think I'd like a bit more heft & extraction in them.
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4. EnGobelet: This is from a block of dry-farmed grapes that are trained en gobelet (or head-trained) like they are grown in CdP. It's always been one of their bigger wines and one that I think rises to the level of their Esprit. The Esprit is a bit more evolved/developed on release and the EnGoblet is always a bit on the rugged/structured side.
Tom