Sacre-not-so-bleu

Tablas Creek 2003 Vin de Paille “Sacrerouge” (Paso Robles) – Dates, prunes, raisins, plums. Fresher than that produce list would indicate, though, and with a strong core of iron. Yes, it’s volatile, but what sweet red isn’t? Very tasty and quite approachable, though I suspect there might be some salutary effects from age (some deleterious ones too; that volatility again). (8/08)

Sacré red!

Tablas Creek 2005 Vin de Paille “Sacrérouge” (Paso Robles) – A dried-grape sweet wine made from mourvèdre. And it tastes like…figs! Black Mission figs, to be precise, in an almost uncannily accurate alcoholic form. Vague suggestions of strawberry jam, plum, or even prune are quickly dismissed by the figgy assault, and the wine has the texture of the seedy pulp left over from squeezing fruit as a preliminary step towards producing jelly. It’s relatively balanced and really, really fun. Will it age? Maybe, but I defy anyone to stop drinking it, once they’ve opened a bottle. (1/08)