Winemaker Notes
Pair with seafood cooked with garlic and white wine, green salads with avocado and citrus dressing, lemon chicken, scallops, or light-fleshed fish with tropical salsa.
Blend: 52% Grenache Blanc, 24% Viognier, 12% Roussanne, 9% Marsanne, 3% Clairette Blanche
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Sliced yellow apples, citrus and plenty of spices. Medium-bodied with racy acidity and a medium finish. Drink now.
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Wine Enthusiast
Light and delicate on the nose, this blend of 52% Grenache Blanc, 24% Viognier, 12% Roussanne, 9% Marsanne and 3% Clairette Blanche shows candied lemon, baking soda and freshly cut nectarine on the fleshy nose. The palate is loaded with both zip and riper qualities, with apple, pear and citrus elements showing through the tightly wound, texturally compelling sip.
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Wine Spectator
A lovely mix of peach, pear and mango flavors that are succulent and juicy, with details of lemongrass and peach blossom lingering in the background. Finishes with nice harmony and juicy presence. Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne and Clairette Blanche.
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.