Today we share the amazing wines of Tablas Creek. Founded by Jean-Pierre and François Perrin and Robert Haas on what was formerly an former alfalfa farm they struck gold planting vines on limestone soils in the Adelaida Hills. They saw immense potential to produce wines with stony minerality. From the beginning they focused on Rhône-style wines made organically. The first plantings took place in 1994 and the first Tablas Creek Vineyard wines produced in 1997. The winery has been an incredible success since that time, reaching worldwide acclaim particularly for their Rhone style red and white blends. I remember first tasting these beautiful wines more than twenty years ago.
I had such a great visit to Tablas Creek earlier in the year. Once again I am overwhelmed by the stunning 2024 Tablas Creek ‘Espirit de Tablas’ Red Wine (OB, 97) which is somehow even better than the ’23 version, with a touch less tension and better flavor density and flavor range. Learn more about these outstanding wines at https://tablascreek.com Here are the outstanding new wines by Tablas Creek.
2025 Tablas Creek ‘Patelin de Tablas Blanc’ White Wine- Mainly Grenache Blanc and Viognier, the 2025 ’Patelin de Tablas Blanc’ shows off a soft mouthfeel, with delicate pink grapefruit, green melon and starfruit flavors alongside hints of toasted French bread. Enjoy now. Drink 2026-2031- 91
2025 Tablas Creek ‘Cotes de Tablas Blanc’ White Wine- The delicious 2025 Tablas Creek ‘Cotes de Tablas Blanc’ White Wine is primarily composed of Viognier and Marsanne with smaller parts Grenache Blanc, Picpoul and Clairette Blanche. This comes off fat on the tongue with a terrific mouthfeel — playing off very much as a ‘Baby Esprit Blanc.’ Dense melon and citrus fruits collide with wet stone and a great feel of tension on the palate. Enjoy now and over the next eight years. Drink 2026-2034- 93
2025 Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc- A delicious wine to enjoy now, the 2025 Grenache Blanc shows off lemon blossom and white flowers on the nose with shades of juicy kiwi. Medium-bodied and offering terrific nerve, this is going to pair with a dazzling array of foods including fresh seafood. Drink 2026-2034- 93
2025 Tablas Creek ‘Alouette’ Grenache- The 2025 Tablas Creek ‘Alouette’ Grenache is a chill able wine that for my palate shows best slightly on the warmer side — and not very chilled. Pure red fruits combine with blood orange zest, iodine and a terrific sanguine character on the palate. You are going to love this forward and juicy edition of this wine that is already nicely evolved. Bravo! Drink 2026-2033- 93
2024 Tablas Creek Grenache- 100% varietal, the 2024 Tablas Creek Grenache stands very translucent in the glass. It has amazing texture and nerve once on the mouth. Layers of guava puree, red currants, wintergreen and loads of stony minerals all combine on the palate. The combination of structure and mid-palate depth suggests this will age gracefully for at least another ten years. Drink 2026-2038- 94
2024 Tablas Creek ‘Espirit de Tablas’ Red Wine- Each year the ‘Espirit de Tablas’ continues to impress. The 2024 edition is a similar amount of Mourvèdre (40%) as compared to the ‘22, with smaller parts Syrah, Grenache, Counoise, Cinsault and Vaccarese. Orange blossom, soy sauce and white pepper dusted blackberry all combine on the nose, alongside smoky and meaty nuances. The palate is thrilling, with its seamless texture and outstanding combination of weight and mouth-watering acidity. Provencale herbs and a gorgeous melange of red and dark fruits parade with crazy good tension on the palate. This is a joy to consume now and has a very long life ahead of it. This is clearly up there with the upper echelon of Rhone-inspired wines from the new world. Drink 2026-2041- 97