Tablas Creek Vineyard, Estate Tannat 2017, Adelaida District, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, Central Coast, CA

This dark and deep Tannat has peppery and spice notes overlaying ripe plum and blackberry, with full but well-integrated tannins and a balanced acidity. Exclusive to Bonde.

COUNTRY: USA

STATE: California

APPELLATION (AVA): Adelaida District

REGION: Central Coast

SUBREGION: Paso Robles

VINEYARD: Tablas Creek Estate Vineyard

VINTAGE: 2017

GRAPES: 96% Tannat, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon

SOIL: Calcareous clay

PRACTICE: Certified regenerative organic and biodynamic

VINIFICATION: Grapes were destemmed and fermented using native yeasts then blended. Aged in one foudre and a mix of new and older smaller barrels for nearly 2 years before bottling, aged another 10 months in bottle before release.

STYLE: Still

COLOR: Deep purple

BODY: Full bodied

TASTE: Dry

TANNINS: Full and well-integrated tannins

PRIMARY AROMAS: Licorice, black pepper, spruce, black plum, violet, baking spice

FLAVOR: Vibrant dark fruit, long finish

FORMAT: 750 ml

ALCOHOL: 14.5%

SERVICE AND FOOD PAIRING SUGGESTION: Pair with grilled red meats.

ABOUT THE PRODUCER: Tablas Creek Vineyard

Tablas Creek Vineyard comes from two renowned wine families: the Perrin family, proprietors of Château de Beaucastel, and the Haas family of Vineyard Brands. 

Château de Beaucastel has been one of Châteauneuf-du-Pape's greatest estates for decades and has been run by the Perrin family for five generations, since 1909. Jacques Perrin, who oversaw the estate from the 1950s to the 1970s was a pioneer of organic farming in the region, and was instrumental in the regeneration of traditional grape varieties, most notably Mourvèdre. This work has been carried on by the succeeding generations. 

Robert Haas played a leading role in the American wine industry for over half a century. As a wine buyer for his family’s New York retailer, Haas traveled through the cellars of France, establishing a formidable reputation as a wine taster while forging lifelong relationships with premier wine producers. When he set out on his own to import fine estate wines from France in the 1960s, he met the Perrins and became their exclusive American importer. 

Over the course of two decades traveling around the United States together to promote their French wines, Haas and the Perrins became friends, and emerged convinced that the Rhône grape varieties so well suited to the sunny south of France would thrive in California's Mediterranean climate. Starting in the 1980s, the partners searched California from the foothills of the Sierras in the north to coastal Ventura County in the south, looking for a close match to the Mediterranean climate and high pH soils of Château de Beaucastel. In 1989, they purchased a 120-acre parcel twelve miles from the Pacific Ocean in what is now the Adelaida District west of Paso Robles. They named it Tablas Creek Vineyard, after the small creek running through the property.

Tablas Creek Vineyard follows the centuries-old Châteauneuf-du-Pape tradition of blending, to produce wines that balance richness and elegance, while ensuring complexity, freshness, and minerality. Winemaking techniques, including dry farming, native yeast fermentation, and the use of large, neutral French oak foudres for aging allow our wines to reflect authentically the grapes, place and vintage from which they come.

Robert Haas was recognized by the Paso Robles Wine Community as 2007 Wine Industry Person of the Year, and in 2014 he received a lifetime achievement award from Rhone Rangers for his contributions to the American Rhone movement. Haas passed away in March 2018. Tributes to his remarkable career appeared in Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The New York Times. His son Jason, who has run the estate since the mid-2000's, was voted by his peers 2015 Paso Robles Wine Country Wine Industry Person of the Year and 2017 San Luis Obispo County Wine Industry Person of the Year.

The Perrin family has received numerous international awards, including the prestigious 2018 Meininger Award for Wine Family of the Year. In addition, Jean-Pierre and Francois Perrin were named Men of the Year by Decanter Magazine in 2014.

ABOUT THE VINEYARD: Tablas Creek Estate Vineyard

“Our Paso Robles Adelaida District location -- in the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains west of Paso Robles, California -- was chosen after three years of intensive research. Our soils are composed of calcareous clay, similar to those which produce the great wines of the southern Rhone Valley. Our steep slopes offer a variety of microclimates, soil depths and exposures. Our altitude varies between 1400' and 1600', and our proximity to the ocean provides warm to hot summer days and cool to cold summer nights. The resulting long growing season produces gracefully ripened fruit in nearly every vintage.” (tablascreek.com)

ABOUT TANNAT: Tannat is a traditional varietal from South-West France, known principally in the Pyrenees foothills appellation of Madiran, but originally native to the Basque region. Tannat typically has intense fruit, spice, and tannins that produce wines capable of long aging.