Winemaker Notes
This is a wine whose flaxen color tinged with green highlight leads to aromas of lime zest and flavors of ripe pear. A medium bodied white made with great precision.
Pair with shellfish, sushi, poultry or vegetarian cuisine.
Blend: 60% Grenache Gris, 40% Roussanne
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A blend of 60% Grenache Gris and 40% Roussanne brought up in concrete and demi-muid, the 2020 Cotes Du Roussillon Old Vines Blanc reveals a light gold hue to go with beautiful dried pineapple, crushed rock, spice, and white flower-like aromas and flavors. It's rich, textured, and beautifully balanced, with richness, freshness, and a great finish. It's going to keep for 2-3 years, if not longer.
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.
A northern point in France’s far southern Roussillon region, Maury is dominated by steep limestone cliffs and the castle of Queribus, which the French used as a defense outpost against the Spanish until 1659. Today it remains an important symbol of the presence of both cultures in the region.
Though Maury is famous for vins doux naturels (a style of fortified wine), Maury dry red wines are quickly becoming more in vogue and received their own appellation designation in 2011, called Maury Sec. As is the case in most of Roussillon, Grenache plays a key role here. The region’s schist-dominant vineyards, which climb up to 1,300 feet, are excellent for the production of Grenache of all styles.
For Maury dry red wines, Carignan, Mourvèdre and Syrah act as blending partners with Granche Noir. In the production of vins doux naturels, Grenache Gris and Blanc play a subsidiary role. The latter are characterized using the same terminology as that in Riveslates with those named as grenat or tuilé based on Grenache Noir and those described as ambré or blanc containing more Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris.