Winemaker Notes
This wine is Grenache Blanc heavy which has fruit, body, and acidity. Floral aromatics, stone fruit, slight minerality, creamy mouth feel with a beautiful acid pop. Blended with Roussanne for texture and complexity, Viognier for aromatics and Picpoul for that nice acid pop. Aged with 20% new French oak for a bit of creaminess.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 58% Grenache Blanc, 34% Roussanne, and the rest Viognier and Picpoul, the 2018 Willow White is a serious white offering lots of white currant and citrus notes as well as terrific concentration, bright, integrated acidity, lots of minerality, and a great finish. It's a beautiful, serious white that will stand up to a great Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Willow White is a blend of 53% Grenache Blanc, 34% Roussanne, 8% Viognier and 5% Picpoul aged 18 months in about 30% new French oak. It has pretty aromas of hazelnuts, beeswax, candied lemon, chamomile and quince fruit. The medium-bodied palate is bright, lifted and fresh with a long, gently textural finish. I'd love to taste this with a couple years of bottle age! Rating: 91+
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.