Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Tablas Creek Vermentino

Tablas Creek Vineyard
Vermentino
Paso Robles, California, USA
2009
13.5%
$24.00 -- Tablas Creek, Paso Robles, CA

Color: Light gold
Nose: Pear, honeysuckle, lime
Body: Medium
Front: Pear, apple
Middle: Marshmallows--not roasted, river stones
Back: Lemon, pine
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Screwcap

There's a slight effervescence in this wine that I find delightful, right off the bat. This isn't the acidic, cutting style that I'm used to from Italian vermentinos, but it is damn fine. The pine flavor is an illusion; this wine is not fermented in oak, and they stop malolactic fermentation to keep the acid levels high. Still, it's very smooth, and would be great with seafood, particularly of the briny sort. I'd serve this to anyone.