Chardonnay from a Chateauneuf?
Written: Jul 11 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Flavors, Finish!
Cons: Limited quantity
The Bottom Line: Highly recommended despite the limited availability!
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| alex39's Full Review: Tablas Creek Vineyard Antithesis Chardonnay, 2005 |
The Perrin family of Chateau de Beaucastel origins make a
series of wines from the region, some pricey, some not, all remarkably well made. But this review is not entirely their story.
The Perrins joined forces with Californian Robert Haas (owner/founder of Vineyard Brands...and that's in itself a long story I'm not telling today)and together the team
created the Tablas Creek Vineyards in Paso Robles,CA.
I love the Tablas Creek wines! In fact, theirs is the only winery wine club wife and I subscribe to...we are "Vinsiders" and receive our two shipments of wines annually.
These are Rhone wines produced from grapes grown from cuttings of the Perrin's vineyards in France, in the Beaucastel: Counoise, Grenach Blanc, Marsanne,Mourvedre, Picpoul, Grenach Noir, Syrah,& Viognier grape varieties.
And the wines made from these grapes at the winery bring a whole new level of quality to Rhone styled wines made in California!
Enter Antithesis Chardonnay
Two years ago in the September wine club shipment we were expecting, we received a surprise, a Chardonnay in the package.
Neither of us were terribly excited about that, we neither of us being great lovers of the common California style of Chardonnay. But this is not your typical, overly oaked, honied and over-toasted California Chardonnay, I'm pleased to announce.
The grapes for the wine too were grown from the Burgundy clone: La Vineuse brought over by the Perrins and planted at the Tablas Creek site.
Details...Details
Folks at Tablas Creek Vineyards know how to make great Rhone styled wines. Turns out, they also know how to make a terrific Burgundian styled Chardonnay.
Antithesis is aptly named...it is the exact opposite of that ordinary California Chardonnay. The color is liquid gold, the nose is fresh fruits hints of apples, pears and a light citrus...not discernable as lemon or orange, but citrus.
On the palate the wine delivers what the aromas promise, the apple and the pear in a fresh, crisp nicely acidic tartness, and all served up in a lightly buttered wrapping to add a velvety texture leading to a long, silky, lingering finish.
Grapes at Tablas Creek are organic grown and the grapes for this wine were whole cluster pressed; fermentation was from native yeasts; the wine was aged in oak barrels undergoing full malolactic fermentation in those barrels.
It's great wine making such as this that makes me wonder if in the final analysis, Technique doesn't trump Terroire in the winery.
Recommended:
Yes
Year: 2002
Winery Name: Tablas Creek Vineyards
Varietal: Chardonnay
Designation: Santa Barbara County
Country: USA
State or Region: California
County or Appellation: Santa Barbara County
Price: 30
Wine Rating Scale: A must - sensational
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Epinions.com ID:
alex39
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Member: alex saliby
Reviews written: 70
Trusted by: 49 members
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