2011 Esprit de Tablas

The secret to Paso Robles is often a balance of power and acidity to find harmony. Tables Creek relies, instead, on their vast portfolio of focused, graceful and terroir-driven wines. The winery, established in 1989, is located in the extreme western reaches of Paso Robles, within the Adelaida district. The vineyards, all contiguous, are carefully divided into blocks that allow the team, led by winemaker Neil Collins in close conjunction with proprietor Jason Haas, to give individual care as needed. In recent years, Tables Creek has switched from organic and partial biodynamic practices to full-on regenerative. The regenerative system creates an environment that sustainably nurtures itself from the inside out. This includes a focus on soil health, biodiversity, no tilling, active flocks of sheep, sustainable energy and paying all workers a living wage to better everything within and attached to the farm. Regenerative is a term that readers will be hearing a lot more about in the coming years. Tablas spearheaded the process, being the first winery to receive an official certification from the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA). As for the wines, both the reds and whites are superb. Most of what I tasted was from the 2021 vintage, which is very exciting. It’s essential to keep in mind that Tablas Creek can often be misjudged by the average consumer looking for a Paso Robles experience. The new releases are almost always understated yet complex and refined. In most cases, these don’t just require further aging but demand it. With that said, patient collectors will reap the rewards.

Once again, Tablas Creek has turned out a mind-bending number of fabulous wines, from delicious entry-level whites and reds all they way up to the top selections, which remain very reasonably priced considering the quality. General Manager Jason Haas describes 2012 as a vintage with generous yields. Haas adds that 2013 followed a similar ripening curve, but the vines were into the second year of a drought cycle, so yields were lower than 2012 by about 20-25%. In addition to these current and future releases I also tasted a handful of library wines, which I include here for further context and ease of reference.

Once again, Tablas Creek has turned out a mind-bending number of fabulous wines, from delicious entry-level whites and reds all they way up to the top selections, which remain very reasonably priced considering the quality. General Manager Jason Haas describes 2012 as a vintage with generous yields. Haas adds that 2013 followed a similar ripening curve, but the vines were into the second year of a drought cycle, so yields were lower than 2012 by about 20-25%. In addition to these current and future releases I also tasted a handful of library wines, which I include here for further context and ease of reference.

Tablas Creek did not have an easy go of things in 2011. The spring frost took with it a whopping 40% of the year's production, including 50% of the Grenache crop and 40% of the Syrah. Thankfully, Mourvedre was largely spared as the shoots were still not out when the frost hit. I tasted slightly fewer wines than normal this year as most of the single-variety reds weren't made in 2011 because production was so severely impacted by bad weather. General Manager Jason Haas describes 2012 as a much warmer year than 2011, but without any heat spikes. Tablas Creek will bottle some of their single-variety wines, although I did not taste them during my visit. The estate has also decided to regraft their Chardonnay parcel with Counoise, so there will be no more Chardonnay. As always, Jason Haas and his team led by long-time winemaker Neil Collins have done an outstanding job with a range of wines that spans from inexpensive bottlings all the way up to the flagships. One of the major developments at Tablas Creek is the estate's decision to remove references to Chateau de Beaucastel, their Rhone partner, from wine names and labels. This move is significant for many reasons. First, Tablas Creek's wines have stood on their own for years. But I believe there is a broader context, intentional or not. And that is that Paso Robles as a region has to make wines that can succeed on their merits rather than being California versions of Rhone wines. Personally, I think that is a great message.