Community Tasting Note

• VlgJeff wrote: 89 points

  March 20, 2021 - Slo-oxed for ~30 minutes which allowed the wine to open and warm a bit. The nose showed some floral notes and a touch of nuttiness. The medium bodied palate yielded the same floral and nutty notes, along with some stone fruits and touches of citrus, minerality and honey. To our tastes, the acidity could have been a touch higher -- probably why we enjoy the Grenache Blanc and Patelin Blend more. Should hold for several years, and may be better with another year in cellar, or with a full 30 - 60 minute decant now.

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3 Comments

• Blue Shorts commented:

  3/21/21, 1:28 PM - Nice review.
  
  If I have one criticism of the Esprit Blanc, it is too low of an acid level, as you pointed out. It's not just this vintage. It's most vintages.

• VlgJeff commented:

  3/21/21, 2:49 PM - Thanks for your comment, Blue Shorts. Yes, of the three Tablas Creek White Blends, we prefer the Patelin because its main grape is Grenache Blanc, a high acid grape. As you probably know, the Esprit's main grape is Roussanne which is a mid-acid grape; and the Cotes' main grape is Viognier which is a low-acid grape, and neither of these seem to comfort our palates. But, all in all, Tablas Creek has a wonderful line-up of wines and it's been quite easy to fulfill our Vindependent requirement for each of the past 8 years. Every so often we'll get another Esprit Blanc -- just to recheck our palates. Cheers!

• Blue Shorts commented:

  3/21/21, 3:39 PM - Jeff
  
  I have found the the Cotes de Tablas Blanc has great acid levels. It's a blend of Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne and Roussanne. We use that wine as a daily drinker in warm months. It's a great food wine and the price is nice....and even cheaper if you buy it by the case, like I do.

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