2011 Roussanne

Production Notes

The 2011 Tablas Creek Vineyard Roussanne is Tablas Creek’s eleventh varietal bottling of our most important white grape. The wine is exuberantly and elegantly in character of the Roussanne grape, with honey, honeysuckle, and pear aromatics, a rich, viscous mouthfeel with just a hint of oak, and a long, lingering finish.

We use most of our Roussanne in our Esprit Blanc each year. However, we often have some Roussanne lots in the cellar that are so powerfully characteristic of the varietal that we feel it would be a shame to lose them in a blend. In these cases, we reserve a small quantity of this Roussanne for a single-varietal bottling.

Our Roussanne grapes were grown on our 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard.

The 2011 vintage was our second consecutive winter with healthy rainfall, but yields were reduced by two nights of frost on April 8th and 9th, although Roussanne was less affected than many other varieties as most of it was still dormant. Ripening was slow due to a very cool summer, and harvest roughly three weeks later than normal, beginning in mid-September and not concluding until mid-November.  Warm, sunny weather during harvest allowed the later-ripening varieties to reach full maturity. The long hangtime and low yields combined to produce fruit with notable richness balanced by higher than usual acidity, all at low alcohol levels.  Roussanne lots were harvested beginning September 23rd and continuing through October.

The Roussanne grapes were whole cluster pressed, and fermented using native yeasts two-thirds in neutral 1200-gallon French oak foudres and one-third in 170-gallon French oak demi-muids. The lots were left on their lees for 6 months, and allowed to complete malolactic fermentation. After fermentation the lots were blended, and bottled in July 2012. The wine underwent only a light cold stabilization before bottling.

Tasting Notes

The 2011 Roussanne shows expressive aromas of grilled bread, pear, pine resin and white flowers.  The mouth is classic, structured roussanne, rich yet savory with flavors of butterscotch, thyme, white chocolate and just a touch of oak.  Still a baby at its release, this is a serious white to age (for up to a decade) and serve with substantial food like roast pork.

Reviews

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Recipe Suggestions

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Food Pairings

  • Rich shellfish (lobster and crab)
  • Sea Bass
  • Mildly spicy foods (curries, gumbo)
  • Stir-fries in garlic and olive oil
  • Salmon
Roussanne

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Blend

  • 100% Roussanne

Technical Notes

  • 13.0% Alcohol by Volume
  • 620 Cases Produced

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We are proud to have been named a finalist for "Best Winery Blog" at the 2013 Wine Blog Awards. This is the sixth consecutive year we've been finalists, and we've taken home the trophy twice, in 2008 and 2011. We'd love to make the 2013 awards a three-peat, and look back at nine favorite posts of the last year. More »