“These are both wonderful white wines, but for quite different reasons…”

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Tablas Creek Vineyard has been on my very short list of favorite California wineries for almost two decades. This storied collaboration between the Perrin family (Famille Perrin, Chateau de Beaucastel) and the Hass family (Robert Haas was the founder of the Perrin’s American importer, Vineyard Brands) has been at the forefront of the West Coast Rhone movement for even longer. Not only were all of their vines propagated from cuttings taken from Chateau Beaucastel, their nursery has also provided cuttings for many other California Rhone producers. Vineyard farming practices are heavily rooted in organic and Biodynamic principles, and just about everything else that goes on at Tablas Creek is intended to lighten their carbon footprint. There is so much to admire about this forward looking operation, but in the end, the wines are what Tablas Creek is all about, and the wines are very, very good.

The Esprit de Tablas line is Tablas Creek’s flagship range, and these two wines had been cellared comfortably for at least the last few years. That’s not a bad thing, because they are built to age, and could have easily spent more time evolving. Still, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to open them, and a visit from our old Gang of Pour accomplice Alan Kerr aka Canadian Zinfan last week provided the perfect excuse to pull those corks. We were hosted by our friends Shar Douglas and Ken Hebenstreit, who provided a nice Mediterranean-Lebanese spread to enjoy with the wines.
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