Winemaker Notes
The blend for the 2015 vintage is 31% Viognier, 30% Grenache Blanc, 26% Roussanne, 12% Marsanne and 1% Picpoul Blanc.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is an unusual commingling of 31% Viognier, 30% Grenache Blanc, 26% Roussanne, 12% Marsanne and 1% Picpoul Blanc. Mediumbodied and lush, it’s dark gold in color, with moderate acidity and a floral-accented taste of peach and honey that finishes fresh.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Turbine White is a blend of 31% Viognier, 30% Grenache Blanc, 26% Roussanne, 12% Marsanne and 1% Picpoul Blanc. It offers a gorgeous perfume of honeyed apricots, allspice, star anise, lychees and rosewater. Medium to full-bodied with a pleasantly oily texture, it delivers mouth-filling perfumed fruit and lingering spicy flavors. It is this style that should age reasonably well and cellar for 5 to 7 years or more.
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Wine Spectator
Focused and floral, with pretty honeysuckle details to the ripe nectarine and peach flavors. There's a vibrant acidity and energy to this white, echoing on the finish. Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne and Picpoul Blanc.
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.