Roussanne, don't walk away

JP Brun “Terres Dorées” 2008 Vin de Table Roussanne (Beaujolais) – Bright. A roussanne, bright? Oh yes. Aromatic honeysuckle with other flowers, yes. But not heavy at all. Instead, its fresh with good acidity, and really, really good. (6/10)

Creek summer

Tablas Creek 2006 Roussanne (Paso Robles) – Wax, ripe stone fruit, coppered cashews, and surprising balance; the usual fat and alcohol-tinged headiness is well-countered by fair acidity and a certain deftness of fruit. I suspect that this could age, and I’ve no reason to doubt it based on the raw materials at hand, but it’s quite approachable now. (7/09)

London arenas

Domaine de la Terre Rouge 2003 “RO₂X” (Sierra Foothills) – An interesting tribute to the partially-oxidized style of wine one can find all over Europe, but rarely (except by accident) here. The grape is roussanne, and its Californian interpretation is most definitely on display here, as despite relatively restrained rancio there’s a great deal of lush golden fruit of an intensity not usually found in its old world models. This upsets the balance somewhat, but that could just as easily be a matter of expectations. I find this wine most enjoyable, and wholeheartedly support further experiments in this direction. Plus, anyone who loves a good pun as much as me has to like the name. (1/09)

Paste-o

A Donkey and Goat 2006 “Tamarindo” Roussanne (El Dorado) – For about five minutes after opening, toasted fruit aromatics rush from the glass, heralding a weighty but not overblown palate. And then, as that initial burst of uncorked goodness diffuses, it goes immediately and completely to hell…overwhelmed with volatile acidity, for starters, and bringing up some nasty, decaying animal scents from the cellar. (“Smells like a cow vomited and then died on top of it,” opines one drinking companion.) Really terrible, and an absolutely horrendous value. (1/09)

Vodka, kahlua, cream

Tablas Creek 2003 Roussanne (Paso Robles) – From a dubious source, but holding well, with the palate a little broader than in previous bottles. It’s still thick with stone fruit lushness, with spice malingering in the foreground, but there’s a bit of snap to it that wasn’t there before, and it could be headed somewhere more promising…especially from good storage, which this bottle has not seen. (7/08)

Roussanne front

Edmunds St. John 2004 Roussanne Tablas Creek (Paso Robles) – Corked, and possibly heat-damaged as well. A shame. (6/08)

Turn on the red light

Tablas Creek 2003 Roussanne (Paso Robles) – This wine is always more angular than I expect given the grape and the region, though it’s capable of responding to food by a little more self-assertion. Waxy stone fruit blows around a windy desert catacomb, the tan earth etched and buffeted by a certain desiccation, yet the finish remains strong (if a very slight bit hot). A strange wine. Maybe it’s just closed? (11/07)

A striking Brézèmblance

Texier 2005 Côtes-du-Rhône Brézème Roussanne (Rhône) – This suggests rather than delivers extreme weight, and in fact turns out rather well-balanced. Nut oils and stone fruit residues are in evidence, along with some spice and a fetid peachiness. A nice wine, crisper than many of its ilk, but with the flavors one expects. (7/07)

Roussanne, you don't have to turn on the red light

Tablas Creek 2002 Roussanne (Paso Robles) – Gauzy and almost, but not quite, oxidative; I have some doubts about the provenance of this bottle. Despite that, the straw and apricot fruit remain, with fair balance and a textural context between a dense forepalate and a crispy finish is developing. There’s much to like here, and the wine expands in the presence of aggressive food, but I’ve had better bottles. (8/07)