roussanne
2023 Starfield Vineyards “Hope Rising” a White Wine Blend of Marsanne and Roussanne
Note it should state 2024 vintage!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Background on Marsanne & Roussanne Grapes
This has long been one of my favorite white wine blends. When given a chance to review this wine, I was excited to taste it. Marsanne originated in the northern Rhône Valley of France, likely named after the village of Marsanne. Thomas Jefferson called it “the first wine in the world” when blended with Roussanne.
Roussanne came also from the Rhône Valley of France, likely between Lyon and Valence, and was first documented in 1781. Roussanne besides being blended with Marsanne, is one of the six white grapes allowed to be used in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Roussanne was reintroduced to California in the 1980’s after many early plantings were lost to phylloxera and Prohibition period.
In the final 2024 Grape Crush Report for California by the USDA, it shows over one third of the white wine grapes crushed being Chardonnay. Roussanne represented only .00045% of the total tonnage crushed and Marsanne being slightly higher at .00088%. The actual tonnage for Roussanne and Marsanne were 637 and 1,234 tons respectively. The largest harvest for Roussanne came from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties with over 33%. The largest harvest for Marsanne, with almost 70%, came from Madera, Fresno and surrounding central valley counties. These grapes from the Sierra foothill counties were very small. This also got my attention to try this wine!
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The wine being a blend highlighted the key characteristics of both wines. The classic blend has a complex flavor with stone fruit (peach & apricot), floral hints and a spicy nutty quality. They are generally dry and have a full-bodied texture, often referred to as having a waxy trait. The blend is 45% Marsanne, 45% Roussanne and with 10% being Viognier. Viognier in small doses is added to enhance the aromatics (floral characteristics) and provides a richer, silkier texture and full body to the blend.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine provided on the eyes a light straw coloring which was just one of two surprises this evening for this wine. Visually seeing this pale coloring and then being “blow away” with the perfume or aromatics of honeysuckle was a nice surprise. The second surprise was on the viscosity of the wine being medium whereas many wines of similar blends were more on the medium-heavy side. Once on the palate the stone fruits specifically peach, tangerine and honeydew provided a large mouth filling and heavy weighted sipping experience. The finish was soft and embracing with smoothness and gentle with a faint hint of the “waxy characteristic”. The other note on the finish was the “Sierra Spice” which Starfield Vineyards describes as being its sense of place amongst the trees on the property of “Ponderosa Pine, Cedar, Douglas Fir and combined with the mountain air of resin, bark and needles” from the trees. They sent me a test tube to inhale the aromatics:
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Hope Rising is named after a gold mine near the Starfield Vineyards. This is their new label capturing the Sierra Spice with the trees and the beauty of the night sky from the vineyard. When the wine is released, it is expected to be $36/bottle.
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
Paired this evening with one of our favorite meals, Swiss Cheese Chicken.
Our usual pairing is a nice Chardonnay and was extremely pleased with the Marsanne/Roussane blend as an alternative. The blend worked wonderfully with savory flavors of the meal and the creaminess of the melted cheese. The nuttiness of the Swiss cheese was only enhanced and complemented the wine. The smoothness of the wine harmonized with the butter and cheese used in the preparation of the dish.
The Swiss cheese chicken recipe includes pieces of chicken breasts cut in half, layered with Swiss cheese, cream of chicken soup, white wine, crumbled croutons, and topped with melted unsalted butter then baked for an hour. Accompanied by rice and steamed broccoli. The buttery aspect of the meal was wonderfully aligned with this wine. A very good food and wine pairing.
The Winery
Photo from Starfield Vineyards
The winery was founded in 2012 by Tom and Rob Sinton with plantings of 31 acres on the hillsides east of Placerville, California in El Dorado County. They are located at 2759 Jacquier Road.
Map courtesy of https://uscountymaps.com/el-dorado-county-map-california/
The names of the wines, especially their new labels starting with the 2023 vintages, highlight the history of region from the Gold Rush with wine names as Miner’s Inch and Rising Hope. These two are for a nearby mine.
The winery produces 17 varieties of wines comprising of mostly Rhone varieties (66%) and Italian (30%) and a few Spanish varieties. The vineyards have been farmed using sustainable and fish-friendly farming since their inception.
Photo from Starfield Vineyards
The wineries name Starfield refers to “Star Fields”, sites where in their words “fruit develops the optimal balance of aroma, flavor and texture”. They also consider what they refer to as Sierra Spice, the aroma and taste characteristics that come from the western facing forests surrounding the vineyards. The local trees are Ponderosa Pines, Cedars and Douglas Firs and their oils provide earthy and woodsy forest aromatics from their oils.
Sláinte,
Michael
2023 Lavender Ridge Roussanne – Venture Beyond Chardonnay!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Winery
Picture from Lavender Ridge Vineyard Facebook
Lavender Ridge Vineyard tasting room is 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.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
To read more about Lavender Ridge, see three previous articles:
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Roussanne on the eyes is a light radiant and clear golden straw color with medium heavy viscosity. On the nose floral aromatics, hints of pear, apricots waft into the senses. On the palate, you are treated to a silky-smooth mouthful texture. The finish provides a soft nutty almond, compounded with a hint of honey and distinct minerality. 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 Roussanne has consistently won awards at various wine competitions. Rich Gilpin, owner & winemaker, produces Roussanne as a standard varietal and a nice change up from Chardonnay! Today’s vintage is 2023 and it goes for $30/bottle. This wine has made my Annual Best Wines Tasted list for 6 years in a row. It will also make the list for 2025 for wines $50 and less!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
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
A new dish tonight called Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken. Decided to try Lavender Ridge Roussanne as an alternative white wine. The ingredients included chicken breasts being placed in the crock pot for 3 hours with black pepper, low-sodium soy sauce, tomato paste, honey, rice wine vinegar, minced garlic, grated ginger, sesame oil, water, sriracha, cornstarch, sesame seeds and scallion slices, for garnish. This was served over long and short grain rice. The savory and mildly spicy is an Asian inspired and balanced flavor profile for a weekday dinner.
While Chardonnay may have been the recommended wine, with the mouth-filling and flavorful Roussanne it was an exquisite treat this week
As a side note, my wife made a note on the recipe for next time to omit the tomato paste and rice wine vinegar and add more sriracha to boost the spiciness!
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
2018 Lavender Ridge Vineyard Roussanne and Patagonian Toothfish
The Winery
Picture from Lavender Ridge Vineyard Facebook
2018 Lavender Ridge Vineyard tasting room is 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.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
To read more about Lavender Ridge, see three previous articles:
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Roussanne on the eyes is a light radiant golden straw color with medium heavy viscosity. On the nose floral aromatics, hints of pear, apricots waft into the senses. On the palate, you are treated to a silky-smooth mouthful texture. The finish provides a soft nutty almond, compounded with a hint of honey and distinct minerality. 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. Rich Gilpin, owner & winemaker, produces Roussanne as a standard varietal and a nice change up from Chardonnay! Today’s vintage is 2023 and it goes for $30/bottle. This wine has made my Annual Best Wines Tasted list for 4 years in a row. It will also make the list for 2025!
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
Picture from Wikipedia
Pulled this bottle from the cellar to enjoy with Chilean seabass. The actual name is the Patagonian toothfish. The name Chilean seabass was invented by a fish wholesaler named Lee Lantz in 1977. The “pre-historic” fish with its protruding mouth and teeth was not attractive to the American market. In 1994 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted “Chilean seabass” as an alternative market name for Patagonian toothfish. This fish comes from the continental shelves around the subantarctic islands. Today it is served at most fine dining establishments and considered a delicacy. The taste is clean, sweet and hints of umami. The texture is firm and flaky and the color is a bright white fish meat.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Cooked in a skillet with the following ingredients: soy sauce, olive oil, honey, minced garlic, parsley, lemon juice, Mae Ploy Sweet Chili sauce, Sriracha sauce, smoked paprika, Himalayan sea salt, pepper, and white wine. Served with sliced green onions and white sesame seeds. Accompanied by brown rice and special Holiday Honeycrisp Salad. The salad included vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, apple cider, honey, purple onion, lemon juice, salt, ground pepper, Honeycrisp apples, Romain and iceberg lettuce, candied pecan halves, dried cherries and crumbled blue cheese.
The food and wine pairing were exquisite and a real treat this week. The wine surrounded each morsel of the flaky fish with its texture and flavors.
Sláinte,
Michael
https://californiawinesandwineries.com