The early 2016 wines from Tablas Creek Vineyard have just been released. They are a 2015 white wine, two 2015 rosés, two 2014 red wines, and one 2013 red wine. As usual the wines are really lovely and very good values. Tablas Creek Vineyard continues to produce amazingly good and very consistent wines. I have written about them often (to read the most recent article with links to earlier articles click here).  And, the excellence of Tablas Creek Vineyard wines has not gone unnoticed. The Daily Meal has awarded Tablas Creek Vineyard its highest award twice: Winery of the Year 2015 and #1 Winery in America 2015 (to read the article click here).
The 2015 vintage was the fourth year of the drought and yields were down from the effects of the drought and the cool weather during the flowering in May. Yields were down as much as 50% in some early ripening varieties while yields of later ripening varieties were closer to normal. The 2015 wines show intensity with a lot of perfume and a nice underlying crispness that gives a wonderful balance. The 2014 vintage was the third year of the drought and a warm spring resulted in the earliest harvest ever with wines that are concentrated and balanced. The 2013 vintage was a classic warm California vintage with low yields as a result of the second consecutive drought year. The red wines are powerful with concentration and freshness and are beautifully balanced.
Below are notes on the new releases. Don’t miss them!

2015 Tablas Creek Vineyard Vermentino
True confession – I love Vermentino! The Vermentinos from Northern Italy and Corsica and Sardinia are great as are the French Vermentinos (known as Rolle in France) from the Rhône Valley and the Côtes de Provence. And, Tablas Creek Vineyard consistently produces one of California’s best Vermentinos. This 2015 is another great example. It is the fourteenth bottling of this varietal at Tablas Creek. The production was 550 cases.
Very light yellow in color the wine is very aromatic and distinctive with floral nuances and hints of grapefruit and melon with a very faint spiciness. With well-defined fruit showing a myriad of citrus notes as well as hints of melon and a faint floral spice quality it is bright and beautifully balanced with a nice underlying crispness. Great with a wide variety of lighter foods including fish, chicken, salads, and vegetables this classic Vermentino gets my vote as one of the greatest under the radar white wines in the world – Outstanding Plus.    $27.00

Tablas Creek Vineyard produces 2 consistently lovely rosés each year. The Patelin de Tablas rosé is a blend of four red Rhône varietals sourced from seven Paso Robles appellations.  The Dianthus is a blend of three estate grown varietals and is named after the flowering plants known for their pink blossoms. Both of these 2015s are delicious.

2015 Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas Rosé
Made with 68% Grenache, 13% Counoise, 11% Mouvèdre, and 8% Syrah the production of this rosé was 2150 cases. Very light  pink in color with an orange hue and a golden edge the wine has as stunning perfume with hints of strawberry and watermelon showing faint floral undertones. It has delicious very pure fruit with hints of strawberry, raspberry, watermelon, and a faint citrus tinge. Very flavorful with great finesse and a lot of charm this is an irresistible rosé – Outstanding Plus.    $25

2015 Tablas Creek Vineyard Dianthus
The production of this wine was only 275 cases. It is made from 49% Mouvèdre, 37% Grenache, and 14% Counoise grapes taken from the oldest section of the French sourced vines at Tablas Creek. Light reddish pink in color with a golden hue the wine has an intense perfume with a myriad of fruits accented by floral and spice undertones. It is loaded with fruit suggesting raspberry, cherry, and watermelon and is full and rounded with intensity and depth. A citrus tinged finish provides balance and definition. This is a rosé that provides immense pleasure and goes well with richer foods – Outstanding Plus.    $30

2014 Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas
The production of this wine was 3500 cases. The grapes were sourced from four regions in Robles and seven different vineyards. The wine is composed of 55% Syrah, 29% Grenache, 10% Mouvèdre, and 6% Counoise. It has a deep color and a lovely complex perfume of plums with a faint exotic tinge and hints of spice and smokiness. With  a myriad of black fruits showing a faint smoky and spicy complexity the wine has lots of flavor with a good underlying backbone. Delicious to drink now it should evolve beautifully over many years – Outstanding Plus.    $25

2014 Tablas Creek Vineyard Côtes de Tablas
The production of this wine was 1600 cases. It is composed of fruit from four estate-grown Rhône varietals: 44% Grenache, 36% Syrah, 12% Counoise, and 8% Mouvèdre. With a deep color this wine has a heady perfume of plums and blackberries with tinges of spice and a very faint hint of mint. It is rich and full with concentrated black fruits accented by spice and hints of chocolate and has well integrated tannins. The wine is well structured and should show increasing complexity with additional bottle age – Outstanding.    $35

2013 Tablas Creek Vineyard Espirit de Tablas
There were 3700 cases of this wine produced. It is made from four estate-grown varietals and is composed of 40% Mouvèdre, 28% Syrah, 22% Grenache, and 10% Counoise. With a deep color the wine has an intense perfume that is faintly smoky with hints of plum and blackberry with tinges of green olive. It is rich and flavorful and loaded with fruit. Plum and blackberry fruit flavors are accented by subtle hints of mint, chocolate, smoke, and green olive and the wine is beautifully balanced with depth and richness. Although it is delicious and a pleasure to drink now, this is a classic Rhône style red wine from a great vintage that will benefit from long term cellaring – Extraordinary.     $55