2017 Grenache Blanc

As usual, there’s a dizzying array of bottlings on offer from this iconic Paso Robles producer, whose wines continue to set the pace for elegance in the region. Owner Jason Haas and longtime winemaker Neil Collins (actually the only person ever to have that job) told me that the 2016 growing season was “extremely easy and well-timed,” with no frost events early on and a warm but not too hot growing season that kept acidity levels healthy. The resulting wines are, perhaps, richer than the 2015s, he said, but “they aren’t on the super-ripe side of the equation, either.” I’ve been especially impressed by the white wine program here in recent years and, starting with the 2016 vintage, there is now a Picardan bottling in the Tablas Creek lineup. This rare southern Rhône variety is rarely encountered, much less vinified on its own, in its native region these days, so it was especially interesting to be able to check it out here this summer.