Roussanne 2022

We bottled a small portion of 2022 Estate Roussanne primarily for wine club members and the tasting room.   A “Baby L’Avion”, the grapes for this wine were harvested following the L’Avion cherry-picking passes.  The 2022 Estate Roussanne ferments then ages in Neutral French oak rather than 100% new L’Avion Oak for perhaps more purity and an earlier drinking window.  The majority of Roussanne now goes to our “Uni” blend, with much higher levels of Chardonnay (30-60%) to make the wine more delicate.  Because of the popularity of Uni, we haven’t made an Estate Roussanne since the 2019 vintage.

A second year of drought reduced our 2022 yields and led to a small crop.  Our vines naturally set only a few tiny clusters each, resetting themselves after over-delivering a healthy 2021 yield despite the lack of rain.  A Labor Day heatwave further intensified the ripe flavor concentration of the tiny clusters.  Yields were especially reduced in our Roussanne blocks delivering amazing vibrancy and amplified, nuanced textures.  We left the 2022 Roussanne unfined and unfiltered to enhance the coating texture.  Some bottles might show a trace of fine sediment or haze.
Lemon energy froths and surges from the nose through the mouth.  The wave of energy becomes brimmed with ripe, tropical pineapple.  Mouth-filling and viscous, yet airy and wispy, with perhaps some fresh coconut flesh and a quenching, long-lived finish.  L’Avion without the new oak, the wine is already complete and ready to drink!  2022 Roussanne is bottled unfined and unfiltered, and some bottles show a faint haze that plays into a soft, billowy texture.