Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhône, Rhône, France
One of the bottles from my annual WWC hosting. I opened this as a side by side to a 2019 Saxum White as the makeup is fairly similar.
80% roussanne/ remaining a mix of Grenache Blanc, Clairette, piquepoul blanc, picardan and bourboulenc.
Nicely expressive at pop, it then faded and hid in a shell for a few hours before coming back at last glass. At 80% roussanne, I expected a more consistent expressive profile (honeyed tropical fruits, some orange) and for the acid to show a touch, but it was a roller coaster. More melon and light fruits vs bigger/more tropical. Medium bodied but not as rich as expected. It’s clean and shows some floral and mineral/stony nuances, but I’d spend the extra and take the Roussanne VV to get more complexity and flavor.
One of the bottles from my annual WWC hosting. I opened this as a side by side to a 2019 Saxum White as the makeup is fairly similar.
80% roussanne/ remaining a mix of Grenache Blanc, Clairette, piquepoul blanc, picardan and bourboulenc.
Nicely expressive at pop, it then faded and hid in a shell for a few hours before coming back at last glass. At 80% roussanne, I expected a more consistent expressive profile (honeyed tropical fruits, some orange) and for the acid to show a touch, but it was a roller coaster. More melon and light fruits vs bigger/more tropical. Medium bodied but not as rich as expected. It’s clean and shows some floral and mineral/stony nuances, but I’d spend the extra and take the Roussanne VV to get more complexity and flavor.
