Varietal: Â 76% Marsanne; 24% Roussanne
Region: Â Sonoma Coast, California – USA
Cost: Â $16 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Â This blend offers notes of honey, orange, and pineapple with a wonderful mineral character.
My Review: Â I was, until my first sip of this wine, fairly unfamiliar with Marsanne or Roussanne. I’d heard the names, seen them on shelves, but if you’d asked me what to expect from either one, I would have been at a loss, since I couldn’t remember a time when I’d had either, though I suspect that at some point I’ve had both. So, this past weekend, when deciding to on something to enjoy on the deck for a light lunch with my wife, I picked out this bottle I had chilling since the albeit brief tasting notes made it seem like a good pairing for some light snacks on a warm April day.
In the glass the wine had a yellow gold color, and on the nose I picked up orange and pineapple. In the mouth those flavors carried over, but more prominent were the notes of honey and the mineral note that kept the wine dry instead of straying into the sweet range that honey can lead to. On a warm day on the deck the wine was refreshing and offered a counter to the smattering of munchies that we had cooked up in the toaster oven. All that being said, the wine just didn’t grab me.
I’m not saying it was bad, but it didn’t blow me away. To be honest this wine could be a great representation of both of these grapes, or I could just have high expectation from the Cline Viognier that I’d enjoyed earlier, but either way, this wine just didn’t make me sit up and take notice. I enjoyed it well enough, was certainly happy enough to drink it, but I don’t know that I’d go out of my way to pick it up at the store if I saw it on the shelf.
Editor’s Notes: I received this wine as a free sample for review.
