Winemaker Notes
The deep golden hue speaks to the viscosity and power of the benchmark 2022 L’Avion. So creamy the oak framework hides undetected in the form of some almost chewable umami. The wine is a dinner course unto itself. Lemon verbena and green apple effortlessly maintain the honeysuckle freshness.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This Rhone-style white is ultra-rich, honeyed, complex and layered. A creamy texture and a medium body, with peach syrup, apricots, almonds and vanilla bean on a viscous, mouth-coating texture that helps the luscious fruit and honey flavors linger long in the finish. Drink or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Buttered citrus, croissant, and grilled pineapple notes all emerge from the 2022 Roussanne L'Avion, a medium to full-bodied white that has beautiful textured as well as balance. It will be incredibly versatile on the dinner table and is a brilliant Rhône white from this team. The blend is 93% Roussanne and 7% Chardonnay, raised in 60% new 500-liter puncheons. Don’t miss it.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aged in 100% new 500-liter puncheons, the 2022 L'Avion opens with a quintessentially flashy, waxy and opulent nose of baked apples, honeyed stone fruit, dried white flowers and mint. The palate is lavishly decadent and soft in texture yet maintains an upright, focused posture. It concludes with a nutty, exotic, spice-driven finish that lingers with remarkable length. Already impressively integrated, this is drinking beautifully today and should have no problem developing for over a decade.
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Vinous
The 2022 Roussanne L'Avion is terrific. Bright, floral and beautifully lifted, the 2022 is all class. Hints of apricot, white flowers, mint, tangerine peel and chamomile all grace this airy, polished Roussanne. As always, a dollop of Chardonnay rounds out the blend. The 100% new oak is not at all perceptible.
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.
Ranging from cool and foggy in the west to warm and dry in the east, the Santa Ynez Valley is a climatically diverse growing area. The most expansive AVA within the larger Santa Barbara County region, Santa Ynez is also home to a wide variety of soil types and geographical features. The appellation is further divided into four distinct sub-AVAs—Sta. Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon, Los Olivos District and Happy Canyon—each with its own defining characteristics.
A wide selection of grapes is planted here—more than sixty different varieties, and counting. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir dominate in the chilly west, while Zinfandel, Rhône blends, and Bordeaux blends rule the arid east. Syrah is successful at both ends of the valley, with a lean and peppery, Old-World sensibility closer to the coast and lush berry fruit further inland.