2016 Tablas Creek, En Gobelet, Red Blend, Adelaida District, Paso Robles.
Tablas Creek’s amazing red blend En Gobelet (referring to head trained or bush vines) crafted from a unique proprietary Rhone hybrid blend of Mourvèdre 39%, Grenache Noir 30%, Syrah 20%, Counoise 8% and the French Basque grape Tannat 3% that delivers a full bodied and deep wine of rich fruit and spiced complexity. The “gobelet” is an ancestral method of vine training, it was used by the Romans, and before, it allows the vine to grow up and more suited for hand harvesting and works best in warmer and breezy climates such as the Southern Rhone and of course Paso Robles, where you find many old bush vine vineyards. Interesting, the “gobelet” pruning method, which has been replaced mostly in favor of trellised vines which produces more fruit and is easier to harvest, but is perfect for the conditions in Talbas Creek’s Adelaida District vineyards, by allowing air through the vine while providing an umbrella like canopy of leaves/vegetation to shade there grapes, this works best with strong spur varietals like Grenache and Mourvedre that are used here to great effect. The En Gobelet Rouge uses Tablas’ original Chateau de Beaucastel clones for the the Chateauneuf du Pape grapes, as well as Tannat that was also brought over by the Haas (owners of Vineyard Brands wine imports) and Perrin (owners of Chateau de Beaucastel, one of the most prestigious wineries in France) families, the owners of Tablas Creek. Neil Collins, wine director at Tablas Creek, an English transplant who has been with the winery since it’s beginning has over the years, quietly become one of California’s most respected winemakers has put together an amazing set of 2015, 2016 and 2017 wines with both his reds and whites being exceptional throughout the range. I was down to Paso Robles recently to taste from this iconic producer that has through it’s wines and vines has made a huge impact on California wine and certainly helped lift the Rhone style wine movement, and I found some fantastic small batch offerings that I had not tasted before, like this En Gobelet Rouge. The 2016 vintage looks set to be a great vintage for Paso Reds, especially in the more Western and steep sloped vineyard sites, and this Tablas Creek En Gobelet highlights this perfectly, it’s mouth filling density and opulence is hard to resist, but it’s wonderful structure and balance sets it apart, Collins has nailed with this blend, allowing the full potential to flow forth across the textural palate with blackberry, plum, boysenberry, poached cherries and dusty raspberry fruits along with a touch of lavender, anise, pepper, tobacco leaf, chalky stones, leather and light cedary notes. With opening it gains a beautiful seamless refinement and the tannins turn ripe, while never getting dull, and at 14.2% natural alcohol it is not overt or hot, the thrills keep coming and a light floral perfume, sublime cassis, mocha and a hint of game reveal themselves and add to the glorious experience to behold in this special and limited edition bottling. The addition of Tannat to the dark garnet En Gobelet is what sets this apart from the usual Chateauneuf du Pape blend Tablas does in their flagship Esprit de Tablas Rouge, making for a unique purely California wine. A visit to Tablas is a fascinating education and must do when you visit Paso Robles, and the tasting flights always provide wonderful surprises to savor, this time I got to try a Picardan Blanc, a rare Chateauneuf Blanc grape of which there is maybe only 5 or 6 acres of in the whole world, a Picpoul, a 100% Counoise, a 100% Mourvedre and many more along with this En Gobelet Rouge, which was one of my personal favorites, it’s a wine that has a long life ahead of it, drink over the next 5 to 15 years.
($50 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive
