2010 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel
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I was also able to taste three older vintages of the Esprit de Tablas cuvée, and as I’ve written in the past, the age-ability of these wines always continues to surprise me. The 2010 Esprit de Tablas is 45% Mourvèdre, with the rest Grenache, Syrah, and Counoise, and it offers a very Rhône-like feel in its blackcurrants, truffle, tapenade, and pepper aromas and flavors. This cool, elegant, pure red has terrific finesse and polish to its tannins as well as perfect balance. It has 10-15 years of additional longevity. This was another terrific tasting with Jason Haas, and he and his team at Tablas Creek continue to make elegant, classic, balanced wines from their estate in the northwestern part of Paso Robles. It’s worth noting that since 2008 they’ve favored cooler temperatures during fermentation and this shows in their wines’ purity and freshness. However, in my opinion, the wines today lack some of the depth and intensity found in previous vintages. Nevertheless, these are beautiful wine that age incredibly well.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Thanks to an early flowering and a cool season that saw harvest a month later than usual, the 2010 Esprit de Beaucastel spent six weeks longer on the vine than average. It's really beginning to unwind, revealing complex aromas of dried herbs, sweet soil, black olives, cassis and cherry. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, rich and velvety, with a lovely core of fruit that's picking up plenty of savory nuance. It is balanced by bright acids and concludes with a flavorful finish that still displays some youthful chew.
(45% mourvedre, 30% grenache, 21% syrah and 4% counoise): Bright ruby-red. Exotically perfumed bouquet of ripe red fruits, Asian spices, lavender and cola. Pliant, sweet and lithe, offering intense raspberry, bitter cherry and floral pastille flavors along with hints of star anise and blood orange. Finishes silky, sweet and long, with resonating floral notes and excellent focus.
The 2010 Esprit de Beaucastel Panoplie explodes from the glass with masses of black fruit, licorice, tar, smoke and game. It boasts stunning depth, richness and sheer power. This dazzling, muscular red is built for the cellar. No doubt about it. In 2010 the blend is 60% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache and 10% Syrah.