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Library Wines

A collection of 109 posts

Choosing an older Esprit Blanc for Vinous Icons

Choosing an older Esprit Blanc for Vinous Icons

In February, I'll be heading to New York to pour at the third annual Vinous Icons event. This event is a big honor for us; last year's guest list reads like a "who's who" of the great wine estates of the world. We have an opportunity to pour an older wine the second night. But which vintage?

Tasting the Library Wines in the Fall 2025 VINsider "Collector's Edition" Shipment

Each summer, I taste through library vintages of our Esprit and Esprit Blanc to choose the wines for the upcoming VINsider Wine Club Collector's Edition shipment. We created the Collector's Edition version of our VINsider Wine Club back in 2009 to give our biggest fans a

Grenache Through the Years: A Study of Delectation

By Chelsea Franchi Wine, at its very core, is about joy. Even within the most lauded, serious, imposing bottles, there’s a spark of elation to be found and savored. There is joy in the wine itself, of course – but just as much in the hearts of those who share

Creating a New Legacy (Tasting) at Tablas Creek

By John Morris Wine can feel complicated a lot of the time. So when we can, here at Tablas Creek, we’ve tried to keep things simple. Remember the days of elbowing up to a crowded, standing bar with just one tasting list available? That was the experience anyone visiting

Beauty from a Drought Year: a Horizontal Retrospective Tasting of the 2015 Vintage

One of the first things we do each year is take a comprehensive look at the wines we made ten years ago. One of the second things we do is share those highlights with our fans at a public tasting (which will this year be February 2nd). Why a decade?

Our Most Memorable Wines of 2024

As I have done the last few years, I asked our team to share a wine or two that stuck with them from all the ones they'd tried in 2024, and why. This is always one of my favorite blogs to put together. I love seeing the breadth

Remembering John Munch: A Paso Robles Legend

By Chelsea Franchi On Saturday, August 17th, some 300 friends, family, and members of the Paso Robles wine community gathered to celebrate the life of John Munch. The gathering included people from the many diverse interests that John pursued, from food and wine to music to motorcycle riding and woodworking.

Tasting the Library Wines in the Fall 2024 VINsider "Collector's Edition" Shipment

Each summer, I taste through library vintages of our Esprit and Esprit Blanc to choose the wines for the upcoming VINsider Wine Club Collector's Edition shipment. We created the Collector's Edition version of our VINsider Wine Club back in 2009 to give our biggest fans a

Tablas Creek Through Three Eras: Tasting Every Esprit de Beaucastel and Esprit de Tablas, 2000-2023

There are two ways that we try to work systematically through the collection of wines in our library. At the beginning of each year, we taste every wine we made ten years earlier. These horizontal retrospectives give us an in-depth look at a particular year, and a check-in with how

A decadent pairing: Moussaka and 2007 Esprit de Beaucastel

One of my favorite cookbooks is the classic (and sadly now out of print) Mediterranean Cooking by Paula Wolfert. There are probably a dozen recipes in it that we’ve made multiple times, and one of them has become a family favorite that we return to at least a few