Renaissance Roussanne

Even after all this time in the cellar, this wine had a great showing. The nose is full of jasmine with a hint of petrol. In the mouth there is honey, that hint of petrol again, hay, herbs. Overall a delicious aged roussanne.

The CT community drinking window suddenly became truncated by a few years, pegging this at past its prime by a a few years. Using a Scewpull, the cork broke two thirds of the way down and was NOT coming out: the bottom of the cork was stuck fast to the bottle and the cork continued to crumble, so pushing it in--which took some effort in getting it unstuck-- was the only solution. Decanted, the decanted again through a steel mesh …

Surprisingly nice! It's definitely mature, but hasn't fallen apart at all. Rich, very minerally. Slight oxidation but doesn't distract at all. Fruit, stones, juicy . Smoked oak echos. Very balanced.

It's disorienting to drink a California roussanne that's not unlike an aged, oxidative, high-quality Anjou sec, or perhaps even a good Savennieres, but that's what I get out of this 5+ year old wine. It's dark gold and has a big nose of yellow flowers, honeycomb, sherry, and nuts, and while it's very big on the palate it's focused thanks to its fresh, energetic acidity, and it really stands UP on the palate more like a Savennieres than, say, many …

Expressive herby, mineral nose followed by chalky flavours with a medium finish. Well balanced. Lovely.