2004 Tablas Creek Côtes de Tablas

Community Tasting Notes (48) Avg Score: 88.2 points

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  5/19/2019 - tward Likes this wine: 91 Points

  A ringer for an aged CdP. This came out of the gates as a Grenache-dominated blend. It's 64% Grenache. If you'd have told me it was 80-90% I'd have believed you. This was best on PnP and with 15-30 minutes of air, after which it began to tighten up and lose aromatics. A very pretty wine that is in a fully aged phase now. Taking a look at my prior note, I don't think this bottle showed as much layered complexity. Somehow it still showed some red fruit on the nose along with cigar, leather, and dried herbs. This was a real winner. Unlike the prior bottle about three years ago, this was purchased at auction instead of from the winery direct and the risk paid off. Thank you to whoever took care of this bottle.

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  6/4/2016 - tward Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Recently purchased this at the winery (at an understandable premium to new release price), so this presumably represents a decade of storage under ideal cellar conditions. What a beauty! We often see age-worthy older reds transform (and Tablas Creek talks about how they see many of theirs go through a "closed phase" between youth and maturity), yet this retained much of its youthful charm even as it fully developed mature flavors. It had bright, if a bit rounded, red berry fruit, even some floral notes along with spicebox, both dusty earth and damp forest floor, mushrooms, maybe pipe tobacco, leather, some meat.
  
  Aside: I was surprised to see only 7% Mourvedre. This is 64% Grenache, 16% Syrah, and 13% Counoise! So the ability to show so much depth was interesting. Perhaps this kind of blend (coupled with 2004 conditions) creates this fresh + mature combination that was so nice?
  
  A decade ago Tablas offered this for about (under!) $20 to club members. If you drank this wine now, you'd kick yourself for not having a case.

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  4/8/2016 - Hgrev Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Very smooth. Seems less dense than a younger cotes de Tablas.

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  2/11/2012 - dubdub wrote: 88 Points

  Has nicely aged. Aromas of spice and tobacco in the mouth on the attack there are red beries merging into dried herbs, forest floor flavours. Unfortunately there is substantial heat on the finish.

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  11/2/2011 - Syuchno wrote: 86 Points

  A pleasant surprise that responded well to cellaring. This was originally part of a three bottle purchase. It survived until 2011 because the first two bottles were unpleasantly harsh alcoholic and woody. Those qualities were not present in the final bottle. Ripe cherries and plums at pleasant concentration levels. Smooth, with little alcohol heat.

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