Beyond Expectations: Twenty-Three Years of Tablas Creek’s Esprit de Tablas

BY ERIC GUIDO |

Tablas Creek has established itself as an icon in California and beyond, one of the top sources for balanced, ageworthy domestic wines. Moreover, they’ve done so from the least likely of places: the arid and scorching region of Paso Robles, where annual rainfall typically totals only 20 inches and an average of 16 days each year crest 100°F. Vintage after vintage, Tablas Creek’s Rhône-inspired selection of blends and single-variety wines proves Paso’s potential for producing wines with modest alcoholss, site-transparent character and varietal typicity. Even as the region battles climate change, Tablas Creek proves that careful vineyard management and a gentle touch in the cellar can yield benchmark wines of the highest quality. 

However, one wine in the Tablas stable stands out: the Esprit de Tablas, which was known as Esprit de Beaucastel until 2011, when the name was changed to better separate the brand from Beaucastel. Since its first vintage in 2000, the Esprit has contained varying amounts of Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah and Counoise in an attempt to recreate the Château de Beaucastel’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape through the a Paso Robles lens. Esprit pays homage to the joint partnership between the Haas and Perrin families, who had the insight and courage to invest in Paso Robles over 30 years ago. The Esprit de Tablas proves time and time again that it can mature positively for two decades or more, and it remains a fantastic value in the market. Esprit has evolved over the last 23 years due to stylistic trends, a changing climate and farming practices but has never wavered from the inspiration that started it all—a belief in Paso Robles terroir and a love for Rhône varieties. 

A Short History of Tablas Creek

Tablas Creek Vineyard was founded in 1989. Robert Haas of Vineyard Brands and Jean-Pierre Perrin of Château de Beaucastel conceived the project while traveling through California visiting many of the region's early pioneers in the 1970s. The wine scene in California was very different at the time, with more focus on Burgundian varieties. The Perrin and Haas families were convinced that California's Mediterranean climate could produce great Rhône-inspired wines, but they would need to find the perfect location to do so—one with high-calcium soils, a long growing season and moderate nighttime temperatures. The search lasted four years, from 1985 to 1989. The Perrins ultimately settled on the western reaches of Paso Robles, just 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean in what is now the Adelaida District. 

Jacques Perrin and Robert Haas at Château de Beaucastel in 1973.

Jacques Perrin and Robert Haas at Château de Beaucastel in 1973.

In 1989, the two families purchased a 120-acre parcel on shallow, rocky limestone soils at an average elevation of 1,500 feet. To assure the best vine material, they imported cuttings from Château de Beaucastel, which, after quarantine and nursery propagation, were finally planted across 60 acres in 1994. The Haas family has managed the property since day one, implementing organic farming practices from the outset. The initial plan was to craft one red and one white wine from the site, but this changed in 2000, when current winemaker Neil Collins stepped fully into the picture . Collins had been working at Adelaida Cellars, where Tablas Creek made their wines before constructing a winery of their own in 1997. After a year working at Château de Beaucastel to gain a thorough understanding of their methodologies and practices, Collins returned to Paso in 1998 to take over Tablas Creek’s new cellar. 

Winemaker Neil Collins has been
part of the team at Tablas Creek since day one.

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Constantly evolving while always staying true to its Rhône roots, Tablas Creek’s Esprit de Tablas remains one of the most ageworthy, dynamic red blends in the United States, Since 2000, the Esprit de Tablas (formerly Esprit de Beaucastel) has aimed to mirror Château de Beaucastel’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape through a Paso Robles lens, honoring the pioneering partnership between the Hass and Perrin families.

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