2018 Lavender Ridge Vineyard Roussanne with Blackened Swordfish
The Winery
Picture from Lavender Ridge Vineyard Facebook
2018 Lavender Ridge Vineyard tasting room is located in the town of Murphys in the lower Sierra Nevada foothills. Lavender Ridge specializes in Rhone varietal wines. They include Cotes du Calaveras Blanc, Viognier, Roussanne, Rolle, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Rose, Grenache, Cotes du Calaveras, Mourvedre, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Vin Doux and Anniversaire Blanc. They also feature an artisan cheese selection that is unique and has something for just about everyone. To read more about Lavender Ridge, see three previous articles:
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Last night’s dinner with the Friday Night Wine & Dine group at Verona18 brought the 2018 Lavender Ridge Roussanne, which was “perfect” for the food and enjoyed by our friends! This Roussanne is powerful with floral aromatics, with hints of peaches, pears and provided a rich and silky smooth mouthful texture. The fullness of body, almost a creamy sense, is the key contributor making this a unique wine! Roussanne brings more acidity, elegance and aromatic complexities to the wine. Lavender Ridge 2016 Roussanne won Double Gold at the 2018 Sierra Foothills Wine Competition. The 2018 release is now a standard fixture in the wine cellar and a nice change up from Chardonnay! Today they are sold out of the 2018, but the new release, 2022 will be released the later this year.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Ordered the Blackened Swordfish special with pineapple-jalapeño chutney and fresh vegetables. The fish was cooked to perfection. The all-encompassing and mouth filling Roussanne, coated and enveloped the blackened spices and chutney with its beautiful flavors. A wonderfully delightful dish and presentation. Dinner came on the heels of the annual Wine Club renewal party held in the Grandview Room with almost sixty wines being presented and offered to be purchased.
We also enjoyed various other wines this evening.
Sláinte,
Michael
https://californiawinesandwineries.com
https://lavenderridgevineyard.com
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