Continuing with our survey of warm weather wines of the pink persuasion, I’m pleased to report that the two current selections from Tablas Creek Vineyard are quite delicious, and deliver the goods on every level. We’re unabashed fans of this fine producer, and while we also will offer impressions of the latest versions of a dandy TC white and three of their fine reds, we’re in full-blown rosé mode here at Gang Central, so let’s start with those. (I also want to mention that the Tablas Creek Vineyard Blog, authored by Jason Haas, Partner and General Manager at Tablas Creek Vineyard, is a finalist in the 2016 Wine Blog Awards in the Best Winery/Industry Wine Blog category. Jason pens an excellent blog and deserves your vote!  But hurry, polls close on June 13th.)

2015 Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas Rosé Paso Robles, 68% Grenache, 13% Counoise, 11% Mourvedre, 8% Syrah, 13.0% Alc., $25.00: Pretty salmon pink color; rich, fairly ripe and mineral laden, seemingly with one foot each in the Old and New Worlds. It shows a watermelon and strawberry fruit character, with a good dose of the aforementioned mineral; medium bodied, with zippy acids and good length. Very much in the same style as previous vintages and very much to my liking.
24% Grenache and Counoise from Self Family Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
20% Grenache from Cass (El Pomar)
12% Grenache and Counoise from Clautiere (Geneseo District)
11% Grenache and Tablas-clone Mourvèdre from Hollyhock (El Pomar)
8% Syrah from Derby (Templeton Gap)
7% Grenache from KamRidge (Creston)
7% Grenache and Mourvedre from Paso de Record (Paso Robles Estrella District)
5% Grenache from Beckwith (Adelaida District)
3% Counoise from Old Oak (Paso Robles Willow Creek District)
3% Grenache and Counoise from the Tablas Creek certified organic estate vineyard Find this wine

2015 Tablas Creek Vineyard Dianthus Paso Robles, 49% Mourvedre, 37% Grenache, 14% Counoise, 4.3% Alc., $30.00: Raspberry pink in color; rich, ripe and dosed liberally with minerality. Like previous vintages, more fruit forward than the Patelin, being in the ripe raspberry spectrum, counterbalanced by the mineral. Medium bodied, with racy acids and good length. Based on what I remember from previous efforts, this might be a little less intense and in-your-face than those, and that’s a plus, in my not-so-humble opinion. Find this wine

2015 Tablas Creek Vineyard Vermentino Paso Robles, 13.5% Alc., $27.00: This is simply delightful; every sip is a pleasure. Clean, medium color, with green apple, lime and mineral flavors and aromas. Rich, intense and a little more dense than most Vermentinos; more than medium bodied, with excellent acids and good length. I could drink this stuff on a regular basis, I like it that much. Find this wine

2014 Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas Paso Robles, 55% Syrah, 29% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, 6% Counoise, 13.7 % Alc., $25.00: Clean, dark color, with creamy red and black plum and berry, subtle earth and just a hint of chocolate, being very much in the house style; a leathery note emerges with air. Full bodied and well structured for at least 3-5 years in the cellar, this is perhaps more age-worthy than the past few vintages. Lots to like here already, and there’ll be more to come down the road.
32% Syrah from Estrella (Estrella District)
26% Mourvedre and Grenache from Hollyhock Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
15% Syrah from Derby (Templeton Gap)
15% Grenache, Syrah and Counoise from Self Family Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
6% Grenache from Paso de Record (Estrella District)
4% Syrah from Velo (Templeton Gap)
2% Mourvedre, Grenache and Counoise from the Tablas Creek certified organic estate vineyard Find this wine

2014 Tablas Creek Vineyard Côtes de Tablas Paso Robles, 44% Grenache, 36% Syrah, 12% Counoise, 8% Mourvedre, 15.0% Alc., $35.00: Deeper, darker and more substantial than the Patelin, with flavors and aromas reminiscent of earthy black plum, berry and currant; some subtle leather adds a “brown” note to the dark fruit. Big, but never ponderous and true to the house style; structured for 5-10 years of cellaring, but quite drinkable now, especially with grilled red meat or a good cassoulet. Find this wine

2013 Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Tablas Paso Robles, 40% Mourvedre, 28% Syrah, 22% Grenache, 10% Counoise, 13.5% Alc., $55.00: This is classic Esprit Rouge, deep, dark and intense . All rich dark plum and berry, with earth underneath and some spicy notes on top. Full bodied and very well structured for many years in the cellar, this will be best served by laying it down for a decade. It has all the right stuff to reward patience and pay wonderful dividends. Find this wine

Reporting from Day-twah,

Bastardo

Related posts:

1. Two Tablas Creek Rosés
2. A Country Neighborhood Red from Tablas Creek
3. Three New Beauties from Tablas Creek
4. More Red Wings and Red Rhône Rangers From Tablas Creek
5. 2007 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel Rouge