Side by side tasting: 2007 Coudoulet Beaucastel and Tablas Creek Esprit

Tasted Tuesday, January 12, 2010 by alanr with 455 views

Introduction

Found both of these today, a nice opportunity to sample them side by side.

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

  • 2007 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel 88 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    Tasted side by side with the 07 Beaucastel Coudoulet: This is quite nice, a bit riper than the Coudoulet, but the comparison is definitely there in flavor profile. The Tablas is somehow more focused and forward, while the Coudoulet is broader and deeper; Tablas is more tannic, a little more straight cherry to the Coudoulet raspberry/strawberry; Doesn't quite reach the level of complexity of the Coudoulet, but overall a nice bottle. I see a lot of higher scores for this, but I think they're not leaving enough room for other wines with much more complexity and depth. The Coudoulet has a definite edge for my tastes, not to mention the big brother Beaucastel CdP, one of the top wines of the vintage.

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  • 2007 Château de Beaucastel Côtes du Rhône Coudoulet de Beaucastel 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

    Tasted side by side with the 07 Tablas Creek Esprit. This is packed with rich, lush fruit, I might not have guessed Rhone blind due to the level of ripeness, but it's not OTT. Excellent overall balance, with some fine tannins and a good dose of acidity, the palate is broad and full, showing medium dark red fruits, raspberry/strawberry overtones, hints of roasted meat juices. From memory I think I prefer the 05 version of this wine, though this 07 is really nice in its voluptuous way. Fairly one dimensional and straightforward right now, will probably improve with 2-5 years in bottle.

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Closing

With relatively similar blends, it's easy to find the similarities in these two wines. It's also easy to spot the French vs. American lineage, some of which is presumably vine age, some of which is terroir, climate, and growing conditions. I'd say they're definitely more similar than different. I was impressed that the Tablas came as close as it did to the Coudoulet, though I had to give the nod in the end to the French wine.

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