Tablas Creek / Denner / Hoage
Templeton, CA
Tasted June 20, 2009 - June 21, 2009 by Will with 1,409 views
Introduction
I was in Morro Bay for a few days and decided to visit a few producers in the Paso Robles area - the recos I got were to try some wines from producers on the "west side", i.e. around Templeton. I was interested in Tablas Creek because they were supposed to make some French styled wines, and wanted to visit a couple of other producers who might be more representative of the area.
My bias is strongly pro-French style so you might want to take some of the notes with a grain of salt. I'm also a tough grader. What surprised me the most was the prices, that I thought were really quite high, especially for the entry-level wines that felt like basic quaffers most of the time, and that I would therefore imagine more in the $10-15 range. I'm really nonplussed by how some people seem to find "value" in some relatively simple $35 wines - for that price I'd expect something serious already, not a pizza wine. I was also perplexed at the pricing policy that consists of selling wine at the winery for more money than at most retailers - what sense does that make? Way to thank your customers for coming all the way to visit you.
Note: the TNs are (mercifully?) short, just a few notes I wrote down while tasting and I didn't really edit them to make them poetic or colorful... therefore they are quick impressions rather than fully fledged TNs, since I didn't get to spend that much time with each wine.
One last funny thing, in the "oops" department, I tried to visit "Lone Madrone" because it's the same winemaker than Tablas Creek but his wines at LM are supposed to be a bit quirkier, more original, whatever. Interestingly enough that day they had only 5 wines open for tasting (it being Father's Day, a Sunday), and it was all the most boring stuff ever, none of the quirky varietals or anything. And I especially wanted to see what this guy could do with Zins, but there was only one open. The first person I talked to as a bit rough, explained that it was "that much" for "these wines" and expected a "yes/no" answer - so I said "ah well I wanted to try the Zins" and she replied "we don't have that many Zins, maybe you're confusing us with another winery" o_O Fortunately her colleague (who I think was in charge) came to the rescue and did some damage control by explaining that all the wines were unfortunately not open for tasting, and that she'd give me a free pour of the Zin they had open that day if that's really what I wanted to try...
Flight 1 - Terry Hoage Vineyards (4 notes)
The tasting room attendant was super cute, so that was a plus :-) Re: the wines, I thought they were fine but I didn't care for them too much nor for that style. This is a good example of a winery where I was baffled by the pricing policy - only $15 difference between the first and the last wine - which meant entry-level wines seemed awfully overpriced for their quality level.
Red
2006 Terry Hoage Vineyards Cuvée The Pick
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
55% G 27% S 11% M 6% Counoise
Elegant nose, light, quite toasted, not heavy at all, good density in the mouth, spicy, decent finish, reminds me a bit of d'Arenberg d'Arry's style ($38)
Red
2006 Terry Hoage Vineyards Syrah The Hedge
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Getting into serious wine territory with this one, could pass as a Rhone but still tastes/feels like a "well-mannered" Aussie, quite complex and promising ($45)
Red
2006 Terry Hoage Vineyards 5 Blocks Cuvée
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
57% S 29% G 7% M 7% Cinsault
Much bigger than the others, much sweeter too, also feeling more alcoholic - seems more complex but not sure how much I can drink of this ($48)
Flight 2 - Denner (6 notes)
Another example of weird pricing, everything is between $30 and $40 - from the most basic white wine (which tastes more like a $10 quaffer to me than anything) to the profound red they produce. I'm still scratching my head on that one.
White
2007 Denner Theresa
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Very fresh and crisp, simple CdR style, a bit bigger though and some exotic fruit, a bit alcoholic, a bit of minerality - not good not bad ($30)
White
2007 Denner Viognier
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Supposedly little oak influence on this one but I could still feel it, though - nice nose but a bit disappointing in the mouth, a bit too "fruit cocktail" ($30)
Red
2006 Denner Mourvèdre
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
A bit muted on the nose and off-taste on the palate, just not very interesting, no animal notes whatsoever - bad bottle? ($40)
Red
2007 Denner Grenache
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Very pure, dense nose of cherries, the grenache comes out clearly in this wine - however disappointing in the mouth, doesn't hold up to the promise of the nose - average. ($42)
Red
2005 Denner Syrah
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Great nose, deep and complex, cote-rotie of the oaky/toasted style, good concentration in the mouth (no fruit notes whatsoever), decent length - feels a bit big/flabby though, not sure there's enough acidity to make it work. ($40)
Red
2006 Denner The Dirt Worshipper
USA, California, Central Coast
Complex nose, more fruit than the 05 Syrah, cherry (no grenache though) + flowers (the viognier part?) on the nose. Good mouthfeel, strong tannins, good structure with decent acidity, going towards coffee/expresso in the mouth, good length. That would be my buy. ($40)
Flight 3 - Tablas Creek - rosé and whites (6 notes)
Good level overall and I can understand the old world reputation that this winery gets. However once again the pricing policy is dubious - everything is between $23 and $27. Why in heaven would I pay $25 for a the super-ultra-basic 2007 CdT blanc when I can get the 2008 Vermentino for $27. These 2 wines don't even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence!
Rosé
2008 Tablas Creek Rosé
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Dark rosé with strong flavors, fruity, still fresh though, slightly sweet, good length - quite rich and tannic for a rosé - would work well with sturdy food, maybe not so much as a quaffer ($27)
White
2007 Tablas Creek Chardonnay Antithesis
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
More "chablis like" on the palate than on the nose, but still not really close to the real thing. God minerality, no length. Marketed as "unwooded" but NFW (careful reading says "full malo in neutral oak barrel" - whatever neutral oak is... - and "gentle oak" - gentle oak ain't what it used to be). ($23)
White
2006 Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Very fresh, oxydative style on the nose (green apple), chalky, not sure I really recognize the Grenache Blanc in this. Good length. ($27)
White
2008 Tablas Creek Vermentino
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Now this feels unwooded - crisp and sharp, pure and clean, somehow reminds me more of Chablis than the Antithesis with some chalky/salty notes. Very nice. ($27)
(tasted again on 25/06/2009 - not quite as mineral as I remembered but still very good)
Flight 4 - Tablas Creek - reds (8 notes)
Big variations here, some of them were really really disappointing (2006 Tannat, 2005 Esprit - although in both cases it can be due to bad bottles - how is that even possible in a tasting room?!?) and some real gems (2004 Esprit, 2006 Grenache). Still probably not as old world overall as they'd like to.
Red
2006 Tablas Creek Côtes de Tablas
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Nice cherry nose, very Rhone-ish, quite astringent/tannic, relatively pure but simple, fat mouthfeel, a bit of alcoholic burn on the finish. ($25)
Red
2005 Tablas Creek Syrah
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Concentrated syrah nose, very peppery/spicy, minty/fresh and meaty in the mouth, dark fruit, quite astringent and tannic, teeth staining type - good but probably not to drink right now. ($35)
Red
2006 Tablas Creek Grenache
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
90% G 10% S. Strong cherry on the nose (surprise surprise), quite complex on the palate, excellent CdP level wine for grenache lovers. ($28)
Red
2006 Tablas Creek Tannat
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Adelaida District
Smells very fresh and feels surprisingly NOT tannic for this grape - very surprising and nothing in common with the sturdy wines one can get from this grape. Lacking character, almost watery, very simple fruity wine. ($35)
Red
2002 Tablas Creek Las Tablas Estates Glenrose Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Slightly metallic/bretty nose, quite complex on the palate, drinking easily with finally something that's not only all fruit all the time - very old world in style. ($32.50)
(tasted again on 25/06/2009 - no bretty element this time, lost quite a lot of complexity in the process and the sweet fruit reared its ugly head - felt like a Spanish Rhone blend and this is not a compliment).
Red
2006 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Pure dense bright fruit on the nose, lots of cherry, very bright in the mouth, a touch of alcohol (burning a bit), style of a point-seeking CdP (think Janasse Chaupin). $45
Red
2005 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Nose: brett. Palate: barnyard. Finish: decent, with some fruit (finally). Verdict: did they import some brett from Beaucastel as well as the vines? ($45)
Red
2004 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Typical slightly barnyardy CdP nose with some cherry aromas, complex and deep, very bright and pure in the mouth - a brilliant wine. ($45)
Flight 5 - Tablas Creek - sweet wines (3 notes)
I was lucky to try those, they are really good although as with most vin de paille the price is a bit of a turn off. I'll still drink them whenever I get the opportunity :)
White - Sweet/Dessert
2005 Tablas Creek Vin de Paille
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Fresh and concentrated (no kidding) and sweet (really?), complex nose, really great on the palate, only thing is that it's maybe lacking a bit on the finish. ($65)
Closing
All in all I had the impression to try very few really good wines, and quite a bit of overpriced run of the mill type of stuff (the kind of wines I'd typically care much more for at 1/3rd of their current price). I know the prices of (real) Rhones exploded a bit in recent years, but for my taste the Rhone wines are still better AND cheaper...
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