This week, HotCosts is offering a rare, hand-crafted artisan wine produced by Bryan Kane of Vie Winery. This wine has consistenly won awards in past vintages and has been recognized as one of the Top Roussanne wines in all of California – and this year’s wine may be the best yet! Only 100 Cases Produced. $29 HotCosts has obtained a very small allocation for this featured wine.
Roussanne is one of our favorite alternatives to Chardonnay as it is one of the only varietals that can stand up to it in terms of richness and mouth-feel. Although a completely different flavor profile than the Chardonnay grape, Roussanne provides the full-bodied backbone found commonly in Southern Rhone blends. On its own, Roussanne can be quite special and expressive, showing its honeysuckle characteristics brightly. The Round River Ranch, located in Bachelor Valley in upper Lake County, provides the perfect environment for this Southern Rhone varietal. It’s warm days allow this late ripening varietal to fully develop its flavors while it’s high elevation and cool night provide structure and acidity to the wine.
The Roussanne is from an old vine (planted in the early twentieth century) vineyard managed by Round River Farms. Located in Bachelor Valley in upper Lake County, this vineyard consists of Roussanne, Sauvignon Blanc and Walnuts planted in the early twentieth century. The 4.5 acres of Roussanne, from which we are purchasing, was originally planted as Viognier, but after one season, it was apparent that it was not Viognier. This fact was later confirmed by UC Davis. The vineyard is planted 3.5′ vine spacing with alternating bi-lateral shoots and open canopy trellis. This unique and expensive configuration allows maximum control of the canopy for maximum ripeness while controlling excess exposure to the sun.
The 07 Roussanne can be paired with seafood – lobster, sole, shellfish, however we recommend oysters on the half shell.
