Few people appreciate Roussanne. Or, rather, you might come to believe the rusty white grape ranks pretty low in regard. After all, it comes with a lot of baggage.
Considered uncooperative and routinely late ripening, also happens to produce rich, floral wines when in the right mood.
The 2011 Roussanne from Vie — San Francisco’s oldest winery aided in this case by Bryan Kane of Lake County’s Sol Rouge (and using Lake County grapes) — welcomes you with a bouquet of honeysuckle, underscored the huskier scent of dried apricots. It’s like walking into a blooming garden, right down to the traces of musty earth and wet stone lurking deep on the nose.
A sip reveals more of the apricot — fresh this time — sitting alongside sliced stone fruits. Kane aged the wine in neutral French oak for the malolactic fermentation, which creates a more full bodied feel.
“We don’t want it to pick up flavors from the oak,” he explained.
Still, hints of vanilla bean settle on over a warm, rich brittle of caramelized pineapple and toasted nuts. A sodden minerality can turn this combination almost into white chocolate, if your imagination strays.
Roussanne was the first and is still the only white Kane produced with Vie. He selected the temperamental grape because of an affinity for Rhone varietals.
“I always thought that Roussanne was the Chardonnay of the Rhones,” Kane said.
Indeed, Roussanne is one of the few white grapes allowed by the stuffy French to grow in certain Rhone regions, including the famous Chateauneuf du Pape, where winemakers have blended it with Marsanne for more than a century.
With Kane’s 2012 Sol Rouge Gypsy Blanc, he indeed showcases the traditions of Chateauneuf du Pape.
The wine is a blend of Roussanne, Marsanne and Viognier. Once again, it presents honeysuckle and white stone fruits on the nose, but a dry, earthy spice follows, along with used vanilla, tamed of its fermented spirit.
On the palate, the Gypsy Blanc revels more intrigue — a dim room with a crystal ball.
The first impression is pleasantly baffling, reminiscent of butterscotch, yet without the cloying sweetness. As you begin to decipher this, the threads unravel, leading to a stew of tropical fruits and seared peach, traced with light honey. Above this rides a floral note, which yields to gentle white pepper on the finish.
It’s an impressive wine, perhaps more so than the pure Roussanne.
“You get the higher tone from the Viognier and the grittiness at mid palate from the Marsanne,” Kane pointed out.
It is also a smooth, creamy wine.
Kane rested the wine in neutral oak again, yet worked in some younger staves — not new, but not yet worn.
“We constantly rotated through these barrels,” he said.
Kane tries to maintain the same basic characteristics with the Gypsy Blanc, year after year. For some vintages he must work in a little Grenache Blanc, but 2012 was a reliable vintage for the three grapes.
“It’s been really good for us,” Kane said of the Sol Rouge blend.
And for the rest of us, it is good that he appreciates Roussanne.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
