Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Bottled two days before I tasted it, the 2017 Roussanne Stolpman Vineyards is closed on the nose, very slowly giving hints of honeycomb, stone, Golden Delicious apple, orange blossom and lime peel. Medium to full-bodied and broad, it gives loads of honeyed fruits in the mouth with just enough acidity to counter and a long-lingering, textured finish.
Full and silky in body but also charmingly crisp, Roussanne is native to the Rhône Valley of France. It is responsible for some of the finest Northern Rhône white wines. Roussanne adds richness and acidity to Marsanne’s soft, fruitiness, making age worthy and highly respected whites. Somm Secret—Roussanne takes its name from the French word, roux, meaning rouge or red because of the berry’s pink glow. In California, virtually all of the 339 acres of Roussanne come from true clones brought over by Tablas Creek and John Alban.
Accounting for only ten percent of the greater Santa Ynez AVA, Ballard Canyon’s north-south orientation provides an ideal pattern of sunshine and martime fog for producing excellent Syrah. While Syrah is planted to half of the total AVA acreage, an additional third is dedicated to other Rhône varieties, red and white.