Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to the next edition in the Better Know a Wine Series, the weekly foray into the world of wine with the Carpe Vinum Summer Sipping and Sampling Spectacular and the Super S– . .. uh . . . Tasting and Newsletter . . . uh . . .Thing! Okay, that wasn’t very well thought out. But you know what is? This week’s tasting: Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier! These are three grape varieties I’ve been keeping my eye on for a while, and they constitute, either alone or in varying blends of each other, some of my favorite white wines. I’ve been planning on this tasting for well over a year now, and so the fruits of my labors have come into being, or fruition as it were. Even if the fruits of my labors include only thinking about the tasting. Hey, thinking is hard work! At least I think it is.

So what brings us to these three wonderful grapes? Well, it all starts in the French Rhone. All three grapes are grown in both the North and the South Rhone. Viognier stands alone in the Northern districts of Condrieu and Chateau Grillet, while Marsanne and Roussanne appear together in Crozes-Hermiatge, Hermitage and Saint-Joseph. And, of course they all appear together in the Southern Rhone Cotes du Rhones and Chateauneuf du Pape, often blended with other grapes. It’s like the three are like a trio of musicians, like the Dixie Chicks, only without all that annoying country music. (Note: I could have said they were like Wilson Phillips, but that’s a pretty outdated reference any more, isn’t it?) So here are these three, the three sisters of the Rhone. Let’s meet them a bit closer.

Viognier! She’s the most dominant of the three, striking out on her own at an early age, and performs solo quite often, although her producers often misrepresent her art. That is to say, there are quite a few excellent single-varietal Viogniers out there, but one must tread lightly, because there are quite a few that have been mishandled, over-ripened, over-oaked, over-fermented and often too high in sugar, acid or alcohol. But considering the Viognier was almost an extinct variety in the 1960s (with less than 35 acres planted at that time), you could still say that the grape is relatively new everywhere it’s grown, and perhaps many growers still need to figure out how to handle it. Produced well, and it makes a beautiful and aromatic and full-bodied wine that I often recommend for red wine drinkers who want a white wine, or for Chardonnay-haters.

The next two I can group together: Marsanne and Roussanne! We can consider these girls twins of the Rhone. The grape varieties aren’t exactly related, but they can hardly ever be separated and are often mistaken for each other. The idea is that the two harmonize very well together. Where one lacks acid, the other brings it. Where one lacks fruit, the other has it. When they do appear apart, the results are usually not quite as good as when they’re collaborating. (And somehow these rare solo appearances tend to be more expensive.) Alone, Marsanne can be a bit light, limp and lifeless and Roussanne can be a bit brash, acidic and harsh. But those are rare singular appearances. We may see more in the future, and hopefully with a bit of proper handling, they may yet have their own successful solo careers.

So here is collected some fine examples of these fine French ladies’ works, both from the homefront and while out on tour. There are some of my favorite appearances of Viognier in Washington, a French duet in Languedoc between Marsanne and Viognier, and then one in the Northern Rhone region of Crozes-Hermitage with the obligatory Marsanne and Roussanne. There is an appearance of Roussanne and Marsanne in Sonoma with Cline Cellars as well as a superb performance down under in Australia’s Torbreck in Barossa Valley. Then there’s is the project I’ve been waiting for, which is the collective work at the organic Tablas Creek winery in California, comprised of Viognier, Marsanne AND Roussanne. Also appearing in that one is the Grenache Blanc, also from the Rhone. I guess someone has to play drums.

So Friday, July 27th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier!!!
Zerba 2005 Viognier, Columbia Valley, Washington
Cline 2005 Marsanne/Roussanne, Sonoma County, California
Grange de Roquette 2005 Marsanne/Viognier, Vin de Pays d’Oc, France
Domaine des Martinelles 2005 Crozes-Hermitage, Northern Rhone, France
Tablas Creek 2005 Cotes de Tablas White, Paso Robles

The Three Sisters of the Rhone!!!
K Vintners 2006 Viognier, Columbia Valley, Washington
Torbreck 2006 Rousanne/Marsanne, Barossa, Australia

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.

Hope to see you here!

Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is Northeastern Italy: Friuli, Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto!

M