Winemaker Notes
Blend: 39% Viognier, 33% Roussanne, 22% Grenache Blanc, 6% Marsanne
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Côtes du Coast offers more exotic pineapple, tangerine, marmalade, and honeyed notes, with a pure, medium to full-bodied, elegant, incredibly pure style on the palate. These are sensational whites that are underpriced in today’s market. The blend is 39% Viognier, 33% Roussanne, 22% Grenache Blanc, and the rest Marsanne, brought up in 13% new French oak, with the balance in neutral barrels and stainless steel.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: I often find the state of Rhône-style white wine blends, made in the USA, to be up and down. The aromas and flavors don't always seem to meld perfectly. Fortunately, the 2016 Sans Liege Côtes-du-Coast stands out as a pretty fine wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine is fresh and lively wine flowers, dried peach, and wild herbs. Its perky aftertaste should pair well with a savory fish stew sans tomatoes. (Tasted: March 23, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
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.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.