Winemaker Notes
This 2014 has classic Roussanne characteristics: Straw golden color; with exquisite quince, honey-nut, and beeswax aromas. It has a very rich and silky mouth feel from barrel fermentation and lees aging, and excellent minerality. Bottle-aged two years prior to release. A rare European-styled Cali-wine that is wonderfully balanced and built for the long haul. This is Terre Rouge's most serious and age-worthy Rhone white.
Professional Ratings
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2014 Terre Rouge Monarch Mine Vineyard Roussanne brings the Rhône Valley to California Sierra Foothills. TASTING NOTES: This wine shines with aromas and flavors of mineral notes, tart citrus, and dried earth. Enjoy it with jumbo prawns in crispy tacos. (Tasted: June 22, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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.
Originally a source of oenological sustenance for gold-seeking miners of the mid-1800s, the Sierra Foothills was the first region in California to produce wines from European grape varieties. Located between Sacramento and the Nevada border, this area’s immigrant settlers chose to forgo growing the then-ubiquitous Mission grape and instead brought with them superior vines from the Old World to plant alongside mining camps.
Zinfandel has been the most important variety of this region since its inception, taking on a spicy character with brambly fruit and firm structure. Amador and El Dorado counties, benefiting from the presence of volcanic and granite soils, are home to the best examples. Bold, robust Rhône Blends and Barbera are also important regional specialties.