2006 Tablas Creek Panoplie

A blockbuster offering is the 2006 Panoplie (68% Mourvedre, 27% Grenache, and 5% Syrah). Aged in large wood foudres and the smaller demi-muids, this beauty reveals notes of soy, roasted herbs, gamy animal, and copious quantities of black and blue fruits. With superb texture, full-bodied richness, and a long finish, it should drink nicely for 10-15 years. This Paso Robles outpost is owned by two Francophiles, Frenchman Francois Perrin (one of the owners of the Rhone Valley's Chateau Beaucastel) and Robert Haas (founder of the import company Vineyard Brands, and a pioneer importer of estate-bottled French wines). Seeking out steep limestone ridges near the Pacific Ocean, Tablas Creek was a work in progress for its first four to five years, but it has come on like gang-busters in the 21st century. The 2007s are unquestionably their finest wines to date, but readers should not overlook the excellent 2006s. Tel. (805) 237-1231; Fax (805) 237-1314