A few months ago, we received two late model reds from the fine folks at Tablas Creek Vineyards for review purposes, one each of the entry level and flagship bottlings. As is often the case here at Gang Central, we took our time getting to them, letting them rest for several weeks in the cellar from heck. Finally, I decided that we needed some good Red Wings & Red Rhône Ranger mojo, so we opened them both and enjoyed a few glasses of each with a good old hockey game; well, I did, anyway, Kim had other things to do, but she likes these wines every bit as much as I do. (Click image to enlarge.)

As previously reported, Tablas Creek’s Patelin de Tablas range of wines is comprised of grapes sourced mainly from the estate’s neighbors; Patelin is roughly translated from the French slang for “country neighborhood.” As you can see from the list below, some of the grapes are from Tablas clones, which is always a good thing in capable growers’ hands.

2013 Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas Paso Robles, 45% Syrah, 29% Grenache, 22% Mourvedre, 4% Counoise, 13.9% alc., $20.00: Clean, dark color, with a fragrant red and black plum and berry nose that follows through exuberantly on the palate with some subtle leather, and, like all TC reds, there’s a nice earthiness underneath the rich fruit. Full bodied, with a smooth, almost velvet-like texture, and structured for five years or more in the cellar. Drinks beautifully right now, so drink or hold. I’ve heard a few people opine that some of Tablas Creek’s wines are over-priced, but in this case, I have no problem paying 20 bucks for juice of this quality. (Many retail outlets sell it for even less.)
27% Syrah from Estrella (Estrella District)
13% Tablas-clone Grenache, Syrah and Counoise from Self Family Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
12% Syrah from Derby (Templeton Gap)
11% Tablas-clone Mourvedre from Hollyhock Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
11% Tablas-clone Grenache and Tablas-Clone Mourvedre from Paso Ridge (El Pomar)
10% Grenache and Tablas-clone Mourvèdre from Briarwood Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
7% Tablas-clone Syrah and Grenache from Starr Ranch (Adelaida Hills)
4% Grenache from Paso de Record (Estrella District)
3% Syrah from Velo (Templeton Gap)
2% Mourvedre, Grenache and Counoise from the Tablas Creek certified organic estate vineyard
5900 Cases Produced. Find this wine

2012 Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit de Tablas Paso Robles, 40% Mourvedre, 30% Syrah, 21% Grenache, 9% Counoise, 14.5% alc., $55.00: Clean, dark garnet color, and deeper and darker in character than the Patelin; richer and denser as well. Rich and luscious on the palate, more in the dark plum than berry spectrum, with a big fat black cherry on top. Perfectly balanced and well-endowed, though not Dolly Parton-esque, and while it’s easily a 10 year wine, it’s so good right now, it’s hard to keep hands off now. One more reason why we love Tablas Creek wines. 4600 Cases Produced. Find this wine

These next two were enjoyed last September and October. They should have been included in my Red Wings and Red Rhône Rangers report, but I totally spaced out and couldn’t find the file they were buried in, so that didn’t happened. The notes turned up in a cloud and not on a hard drive, and since it’s only been five months, I seriously doubt that the wines have gone through any significant changes, so they are presented here for your perusal.

2012 Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas Paso Robles, 53% Syrah, 27% Grenache, 18% Mourvedre, 2% Counoise, 13.8% alc., $20.00: Clean, dark color, with briary red and black fruit on the nose. There’s plenty more of the same in the mouth, with the briary quality setting the tone for the wine’s rich personality. Full bodied and very well-balanced, this drinks well as soon as the stelvin enclosure is twisted off and glasses are poured, but this has the structure to spend some years developing in the cellar; the good folks at Tablas Creek say it’ll go as long as a decade and I have no reason to doubt their prediction. Nice stuff, this, and, again, I can really cozy up to more of it, thanks to the friendly price tag.
22% Syrah from Estrella Farms (Estrella District)
18% Syrah from Hammond-Crossland (Estrella District)
11% Grenache and Tablas-clone Mourvèdre from Briarwood Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
11% Tablas-clone Mourvedre from Hollyhock Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
7% Syrah and Mourvèdre from the biodynamically-farmed Chequera Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
7% Mourvedre, Grenache and Counoise from the Tablas Creek certified organic estate vineyard
6% Tablas-clone Grenache, Syrah and Counoise from Self Family Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
6% Tablas-clone Syrah and Grenache from Starr Ranch (Adelaida Hills)
4% Grenache from Colina d’Oro Vineyard (El Pomar)
3% Grenache from Catherine’s Vineyard (El Pomar)
2% Grenache from Paso de Record (Estrella District)
2% Grenache from Sosnove Vineyard (Estrella District)
1% Syrah from Davis Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
6500 Cases Produced. Find this wine

2012 Tablas Creek Vineyard Côtes de Tablas Paso Robles, Grenache 60%, Syrah 25%, Counoise 10%, Mourvedre 5%, 14.5% Alc., $35: Clean dark garnet color, with a pretty perfume very much in the TC house style. Kim describes this as “eminently drinkable,” and she nails it. It’s a lovely, somewhat earthy fruit bowl full of red and black plums, berries and cherries, smooth and delicious as soon as you pour a glass. Full bodied, but not heavy, this is balanced and structured for several years in the cellar; tannins and acids make themselves known mostly on the finish, turning a bit burry. Drink it now, or hold it for some years; the TC website says it’ll hold well over the next 10 years. This will pair well with all of the usual suspects, including grilled steaks, pastas with meat sauces, rich beef stews and spicy sausages; it also shows well all by its lonesome. Another very fine Côtes de Tablas indeed. 2600 Cases Produced. Find this wine

Reporting from Day-twah,

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Related posts:

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

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