Described as the sibling winery of southern
Rhône estate
Château de Beaucastel in
Châteauneuf du Pape, Tablas Creek Vineyard was founded in 1990 by Jean-Pierre and François Perrin of the Perrin family, proprietors of Beaucastel since the early 20th century, and Robert Haas, an importer and the founder of Vineyard Brands. Having searched for the appropriate
terroir since 1985, in 1989 the Perrins and Haas chose the site, a former
alfalfa farm on top of a
Late Cretaceous seabed, for its soil
pH and limestone base similarities to Beaucastel. With an aim to produce Rhône-style wines made by
organic principles,
vines were imported from the Beaucastel vineyards, both to supply varieties previously unavailable in California such as
Counoise and
Grenache blanc, and in order to ensure the disease-free provenance of the remaining varieties. Beginning in 1990, the vines were quarantined by the
United States Department of Agriculture. The first clones were released in 1992, with additional clones released over the next two decades. Planting of these French clones began in 1994. Previously, experiments had been made with American material planted in selected soils beginning in 1992. Wines were produced under the names Adelaida Hills and Tablas Hills between 1994 and 1996, with the first Tablas Creek Vineyard wines produced in 1997. Although all grapes were grown on site, the launch of the Tablas Creek Vineyard label was delayed until the majority of the wine was produced from French vines. Pierre Perrin estimates that the Tablas Creek estate with its nursery project has "probably been one of the most expensive vineyards in the world to develop". In 2009 it was reported that 50% of the sales of the Tablas Creek production takes place at the estate or through their wine club. ==Production==