A Trip to Paso Robles

Jason Haas, the GM at Tablas Creek Vineyard turned Director for this performance for the Miami Branch Zoom Screening which elicited sounds of wonder and admiration for the lead actors he chose, the 2010 Esprit de Beaucastel and 2018 Esprit de Tablas Blanc.

Some remember the grand ‘89 Beaucastel rouge, which rendered due honors to the 80th anniversary of the running of Beaucastel by the Perrins (1909), and was also the year the Haas and Perrin families chose the site in Paso Robles, near a creek names Tablas, with cooler days and warmer nights than Beaucastel some 5.5k miles to the East, yet with similarly perceptive terroir to grape varietals of the Rhône.

The vines for TC were brought from Beaucastel, went for an extended (3 years) quarantine, in a first for the USDA.  Their grafting business is now a large part of their revenue selling to other producers, after a very expensive start waiting for the USDA benediction.

Jason recounted his having (!!!) to tag along with his dad Robert, founder of Vineyard Brands Imports, on his travels throughout the cellars of France seeking the finest estate wines, where Robert forged a deep-rooted and familial relationship with  the Perrin Patriarch, Jacques, one which has blossomed uniquely.

The good side of this ‘Zoom Business’ is one gets to first choose the wines, the food is ‘après’.  Imagine if, as lead member of the wine cast, you were asked to act love scenes with an unknown but hopefully tasty appetizer and then have to put fork to a new entrée, and manage to pair perfectly in front of an audience of critics. Jason helped immensely by choosing for us in advance, giving us an already screen-tested (and now screen-tasted) recipe for success.

The 2010 Esprit de Beaucastel, TC’s flagship red, with primary composition of 45/30/21% MGS (Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah), was showing beautifully- the velvety Grenache at front-palate, the earthy Mourvèdre at mid-, and the spicy Syrah at back-.  As far as what is predominant at 10 years, the Grenache led the way with a lushness permeating the structure delineated by the other two.

The 2018 Esprit de Tablas Blanc, the flagship on the white side, has primarily 66/21% Roussanne/Grenache Blanc, and given its youth, it was harder to attach to the palates, if not less approachable;  a very ‘Clean’ wine, for its clarity of mineral structure, and sweet fruit nuances, even if on the more sharp orange/pineapple/Gravensteins side;  in 2028 at 10 years we shall see if it goes more Roussanne (lush honey), than Grenache Blanc (bright acids).

The beauty of both these wines is that they are crafted to go long, 10-20 years easily, and are a true manifestation of what its forefathers, Giants of Wine Jacques and Robert, meant to pass along to the producer and Director who inspire today.