Impressions of the Pass of the Oaks - El Paso de Robles, California

Back from Paso Robles.... there three days and three nights, took in 2 wineries, 3 restaurants, 1 run through town, and a wedding at a winery.

First, let's talk about the two wineries visited:

Tablas Creek

Located on the west side of Paso Robles, tucked in the hills, this not-so-large property has rolling vineyards many planted 15 to 20 years ago, so the vines are by Paso standards older than others. The winery sports a cute sign pointing to Domaine de Beaucastel in Chateauneuf du Pape in the Southern Rhone.

We had an extensive, guided tour of the Tablas Creek estate, which produces wines only from estate grown fruit. There are a great deal of varieties planted here, including all 13 varieties allowed in Chateauneuf du Pape, as well as some Northern Rhone varieties, such as Viognier, as well as some Spanish and Italian varieties.

After the extensive tour, an extensive tasting:

2007 Cotes de Tablas Blanc

Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Grenache Blanc

This is a blend of white wine grapes from the Rhone, though Viognier is from the Northern Rhone and the other three are from the Southern Rhone. The Viognier dominates here, with a rich aromatic nose, and a palate that is full-bodied, pleasant, 13.5% alcohol.

2007 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc

Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul Blanc

This is a blend of white grapes allowed in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation, and this is where I learned that Viognier is not one of them! As for the Picpoul variety, I also didn't know this is from the Southern Rhone; I only know Picpoul de Pinet..... which the tour guide had not heard of (Pinet that is). This is an expressive, interesting white wine, with nuances of poached pear, creamy oak and malolactic fermentation, though not overly oaky.

2007 Roussanne

100% Roussanne

Rich wine with some neutral oak, savory peach/pear, but not fruity. Great roast chicken wine, in my mind.

2006 Grenache Blanc

100% Grenache Blanc

Lemon/citrus nose, reminiscent of Riesling, bright acidity on the palate, and doesn't taste anything like its 15.3% alcohol.

2008 Vermentino

100% Vermentino

An Italian white variety. Fresh aroma, floral. Fresh and zippy with good acidity, citrus, orange, and lower alcohol. Refreshing.

2008 Rose

Mourvedre, Grenache Noir, Counoise

A deep red colored Rose made from 48 hours on the skins - juicy, full of red berries and watermelon, a touch of pepper. Very ripe fruit flavors. A good wine for cured salmon

2006 Cotes de Tablas

Grenache Noir, Syrah, Mourvedre, Counoise

Fashioned after a Cotes du Rhone, this wine shows more tannin than I'm used to in Cotes du Rhone, more body and fruit and power, but a pleasant red wine nonetheless.

2005 Syrah

90% Syrah, 10% Grenache Noir

Nice depth, spice, a little tannin, dark berry fruit, and some complexity from aging. A solid Syrah.

2006 Grenache

90% Grenache, 10% Syrah

Fruity nose; on the palate, tea, berries, and some sweetness. 15.3% alcohol.

2006 Esprit de Beaucastel

Mourvedre, Grenache, Syrah, Counoise

Their signature wine, their version of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. This vintage is sweet, fruity, showing some alcohol, but mostly fresh red berries.

2005 Esprit de Beaucastel

This vintage is rustique, with animal/brettanomeyces/barnyard nose reminiscent of a French wine. Not so much that it is a negative, just an interesting point with this vintage.

2004 Esprit de Beaucastel

This vintage shows nice development in the wine, no barnyard flavors, very nice.

Halter Ranch

Halter Ranch is a neighboring estate that is much larger than Tablas Creek. The estate is younger, and most vines were planted around 2000. The wines made here are also all estate-grown, and in fact, the estate grows so many grapes, that it sells some to neighbors, such as Justin.

California sales manager Jim Witt gave us a private tour of the property in his truck, and we drove around the vast site which boasts 250 acres under vine, and a total property area of 1000 acres.

At certain points he had to get out of the truck to open and close gates which were part of the fence system that allowed the local deer to migrate through the area without having access to the vineyard.

At one point in the tour, we got out to visit what Jim told us was the largest oak tree in the world. This oak tree on the Halter Ranch property gives its Bordeaux-style blend Ancestor its name.

Of the wines we tasted at Paso, I most enjoyed their Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

My favorite restaurant in Paso turned out to be Villa Creek.

We had a nice meal with Villa Creek's 2006 Avenger:

The Sheppard's plate

Below, the Cassoulet:

And roast lamb: