Old world meets the new at Tablas Creek

The blurring of the lines between old and new world wine was one of the themes to emerge from a ‘Judgement of London’ tasting in May, which took place at the London Wine Fair and pitted wine from Europe (‘old world’) against the rest of the world (‘new world’)¹.

It was staged 48 years after the memorable Judgment in Paris when, surprisingly at the time, Californian wine triumphed over France. In 1976 the differences in style were more marked than today, and despite victory for California, elegance was often sacrificed for boldness and power.

However, this is often no longer the case, and a message the assembled judges at the Judgement of London were keen to stress was that styles can no longer be demarcated along old and new world lines. Winemakers around the world often share common ground when it comes to wine production, and ideas and materials can now be shared far more freely compared to the 1970s.

One of the factors contributing to changing styles of new world wine is the use of clones sourced from the old world. For example, the famous pinot noir ‘Dijon’ clones have been available in the US since 1987, helping to assist winemakers trying to replicate the elegance and uniqueness of red burgundy, and vine cuttings taken from varieties such as grenache, mourvedre, syrah and roussanne (plus many more) from the Southern Rhone have been key in the success of Paso Robles-based Tablas Creek.

I had been aware of Tablas Creek for a while, but learned a lot more during a tasting at Pacific Wines in Islington, when I tasted a range of the producer’s wines.

Tablas Creek was founded by wine importer Robert Haas in 1989, but the story starts earlier than that as Haas established links with the Perrin family in the 1960s and helped distribute their wines, the most famous being Chateau de Beaucastel, one of the legendary estates in Chateuneuf-du-Pape, in the US.  

A plan was later devised to replicate Southern Rhone wine in California and the Paso Robles AVA - located midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles - with its Mediterranean climate, enabling effective ripening of Southern Rhone varieties, tempered by the cooling influence of the Pacific (Paso Robles has an extremely high diurnal range), was identified as a suitable location. In 1989 Haas and Perrin purchased 48 hectares in the Adelaida District of Paso Robles, which is characterised by limestone soils and a proximity to the Pacific, which is just 11 miles away.

Adelaida is one of the coolest districts in Paso Robles, enabling slow ripening, ideal conditions with which to replicate fresh and delicate ‘old world’ styles.

Vine cuttings from the Beaucastel estate were used for planting following a three-year USDA quarantine, and clones of the original plantings were then shared with other wineries across California. The influence of Tablas Creek on Rhone blends in the US extends far beyond their own wines.

Sheep graze in Tablas Creek vineyards (picture credit: tablascreek.com)

Tablas Creek was the first vineyard in the world to be Regenerative Organic Certified in 2020. As well as practising organic viticulture, Tablas Creek places a huge emphasis on sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Renewable energy is used in the winery via solar power and using lightweight glass for bottles, and ‘bag-in-box’ for some packaging reduces carbon footprint. A flock of sheep graze on cover crops, resulting in organic fertiliser via manure, and no-till farming helps to retain carbon. Workers are paid living wages, work in safe conditions and are aware of their rights.

Jason Haas, son of Robert and current partner and general manager of Tablas Creek, guided us through the following suite of wines:

(Tablas Creek wines are distributed by Liberty Wines in the UK. The wines below can be purchased from Pacific Wines in Islington or online at Vinvm, Hic! or the Wine Society)

Patelin de Tablas Blanc 2021
54% grenache blanc, 29% viognier with small quantities of marsanne, roussanne and bourboulenc also in the blend. Nicely-textured stone fruit, quite full-bodied. Fruit forward. The estate’s entry-level white blend.

Roussanne 2019
100 per cent roussanne, which is a difficult grape to grow successfully as it’s prone to mildew which affects yields. The influence of new oak is evident here and complements fruit resembling melon and pear. Full-bodied and will go well with roast chicken.

Esprit de Tablas Blanc 2019
The estate’s flagship Rhone blend. 63% roussanne, 20% grenache blanc, 14% picpoul, 3% picardan. The fresh, citrus influence of the picpoul complements the more full-bodied flavours of roussanne to give excellent fruit complexity. Definitely worth checking out.

Patelin de Tablas Rouge 2022
54% syrah, 29% grenache, 14% mourvedre, 3% counoise, 1% terret noir. Surprisingly pale in colour, perhaps a consequence of syrah grown on limestone soil. Medium-bodied, elegant expression of a red Rhone blend with some red fruit and pepper. 2022 was a difficult year in Paso Robles, with heat spikes potentially leading to rapid ripening, but Adelaida was one of the districts least affected.

Mourvedre 2018
Pale in colour, a long way from the inky monastrell often found in Spain. Spicy, with liquorice, black fruits and some leather. Aged in foudres.

Esprit de Tablas Rouge 2017
Replicates the Chateau de Beaucastel blend, with mourvedre being the dominant variety. 40% mourvedre, 35% grenache, 20% syrah, 5% counoise. In its mature phase according to Tablas Creek vintage chart. In his blog, Jason Haas rates this as one of his best Esprit vintages. Complex, with the grenache element adding complexity to black-fruited and leathery mourvedre.

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Flight 36

Stephen Vincent Pinot Noir 2020 Sonoma County ( £10.50 a glass, 28-50, Marylebone)
Very expressive on the nose, ripe, red fruit with spice from some oak influence. Cedary finish. Hard to purchase in the UK (unless you want to pay a huge shipping fee), so may have to return to 28-50 before they run out.

Domaine de La Patelle ‘Le Kiosque’ VDF 2022, Jura (£20 The Sampler)
100 per cent chardonnay. Yellow fruit (apple and quince), high acidity giving structure, some nuts and brioche plus cooked apple. Minimum intervention in the winery and this seems to show too with a funky edge. The winemaker, Pascal Thereau, spent some time working with renowned Jura producer Stephane Tissot.

Leon Beyer Grand Cru Eichberg Riesling 2014 (£19 half bottle, Wine Society)
Medium gold in colour, this was mature with dried apricot, honey and marmalade. Bitter almonds coming through on finish. Complex, but maybe this was slightly better a few years earlier.

1. For more details of the competition, see https://www.londonwinefair.com/news/london-wine-fair-s-judgement-of-london-the-results/