The Barrel Tour with Neil - Part 1 of 3

A while back, boyfriend and I attended the Lone Madrone Industry Party. Well, it was actually a Wassail. The Wassail is a nod to Lone Madrone's Winemaker Neil Collins' history of growing up in Bristol, England. Good wine, fabulous hard apple cider, and incredible music made for quite a merry event on a cold night. (Boy do I wish I had pictures - it was a heck of a party!)

While closing down the party, boyfriend and I got the chance to chat with Neil Collins himself. I have no idea how we stumbled upon the subject, but Neil found out that I was on the hunt to try as many obscure single varietals as possible, especially single varietals from the Rhone region - just so I could experience each one and to understand them on their own rather than in a typical blend. Neil kindly said, "Come on up to Tablas Creek. I'll give you a barrel tour. I'm willing to help anyone who seriously wants to learn." Sweet! How on earth did we score one of the hottest tickets in town? (Please note: this was a special invite for me as I know Neil and work in the wine industry. Please don't start calling Tablas asking for your own barrel tour -  tours like this are not typically given. And to be clear, Neil is the winemaker for Tablas Creek, but Lone Madrone is his "family" winery.)

So it took a while to get up there as everyone was busy at Tablas moving into their fabulous new tasting room. But I'm excited to say, the tour finally happened and I'm here to tell you all about it!

Before I start, I want to let you know that this blog will just be part 1 of 3 as there is a bunch of info. And since you weren't there to taste the wines with me, I will do my absolute best to describe what I tasted so that you have a better idea of each varietal. Beyond that, I also met with John Morris, the Tasting Room Manager of Tablas, days after my tour so that I could experience the varietals in their finished, perfected state. So my notes on the varietals will be a blend of the barrel tour as well as the information that John helped me with in the tasting room.

So let us begin.

As boyfriend and I were about to open the door, we looked at each other and said, "Can you believe we're finally here? This is surreal."  We were so excited for this opportunity as we knew that this was a rare treat for a selected few - we wanted to make the most of every moment!

We walked in the doors of the production facility and this is what we saw:

Jealous yet?

And here's me - in all of my giddy glory with three barrels all to myself!

Neil joined us, we were chatting, needed to go get glasses to start tasting, and then the tour began - yay!

First, the whites.

We started off with Rousanne. Now keep in mind, I've been having a hard time wrapping my head around white Rhones as they are *so* different than the whites most Americans are used to. It's hard for me to describe the taste. But here are some facts: Rousanne can barrel age for up to 20 years, and can age up to 5-8 years while in a blend. Tablas Creek barrel ferments the Rousanne (like Chardoanny) which makes it more complex.

Tasting notes: Roussanne is best described as savory. Savory spices, baking spices including cardamon, clove, even a nutty quality. It also has floral aromas of apricot - even honey. It can have a fat, lush, oily and waxy quality to it. Drinking Roussanne while eating food is definitely the best way to experience it.

Bergeron. Now I have been on the hunt for Beregon for quite a while now. It is the elusive grape - Roussanne picked early to capture a lighter, brighter acidity. Think of it as a light version of Roussanne. There was no Beregron to sample during the barrel tour so while I was at Tablas, Mary (an absolutely fabulous lady!) opened up the Bergeron for me to taste. It's light, soft on the palate. Soft honey yet with a crispness. It still has the savory element yet also has a slight saline aspect which I also find in Albarino as well as Booker's Pink and L'Aventure's Rose (which I love.) I've actually never tasted anything like it before - what a treat!

Marsanne. Marsanne to me is similar to Roussanne, yet so very different. It is "flatter" than Roussanne - has more of a straw quality, yet it still has the oily quality about it. It can also exhibit a melon/honeysuckle quality. Marsanne is typically blended with Roussanne yet once in a while, you can find it as  single varietal wine.

Picpoul Blanc. This is one of my favorite varietals - all because I get to say, "Picpoul" and sound totally fancy! Picpoul Blanc is bright, crisp and has a lemony/lemon peel quality about it. It can also have the flavors of pineapple & orange. Total bright acidity on the palate, which I personally love. Excellent porch pounder on a hot summer day :)


Grenache Blanc. Grenache Blanc is nearly identical to Grenache Noir - think of it as albino Grenache. It has flavors of green apple, pear, peach - even anise and sweet apple pie - yet it is a totally dry wine. It captures a crisp, mineral quality. A fun fact - it is high in alcohol just as grenache noir is as there is lots of sugar in the grape that needs to be converted to alcohol. Is that why grenache is one of my favorite wines? :)

Viognier. So I didn't get to try Viognier in the barrel room, and because Tablas isn't doing it as a single varietal right now, I'm not going to comment. That said, I've had many Viogniers before and could comment, but I choose not to until I get to try the "Tablas" & "Neil" style of Viognier. Please forgive me, but I am a true purist. Lone Madrone makes a single varietal Viognier which I will soon purchase so that I can comment directly for the blog but to note, Viognier typically has flavors of honey, peach and apricot with moderate acidity and minerals.

Vermentino. Ok - so Vermentino isn't a rhone varietal. So why on earth is Tablas Creek making a single varietal of it? Well, way back when, when the rootstock for Tablas Creek was coming from Chateau Beaucastel, a smart gentleman in France thought, "Hey - they may like this." So Tablas Creek received the rootstock, decided to plant it, and thankfully so as their Vermentino is one of my favorites!

Oh, my Vermentino. Bright, crisp with flavors of lemon, lime, tangerine - anything and everything citrus. It also has flavors of melon & ripe cantaloupe. It still captures a mineral quality - even a bit chalky. The best way that John described it was "laser sharp crispness" - everything I love. No wonder I left with a bottle - but why oh why didn't I buy more? Beware John & Neil: I will be back.

That's enough for now as I don't want to bore you all. Next post will focus on Neil, his thoughts about wine and winemaking and lord knows what else!

See you soon!

P.S. For more information on the varietals I highlighted on this blog, click HERE.