CLINE CELLARS
Technical Notes
1997 Los Carneros Roussanne
HARVEST DATE: September 22
BRIX AT HARVEST: 24.3°
TOTAL ACIDITY: 0.68g/100ml
FINAL pH: 3.32
RESIDUAL SUGAR: 0.042g/100ml
ALCOHOL: 14.0%
SUGGESTED RETAIL: $20
VINTAGES NOTES
The 1997 growing season could be described as one of the largest on record. Fortunately, a very warm summer tempered,
in the Los Carneros district, by strong winds and a maritime cooling influence enabled this large crop to
mature fully. Due to an extremely dry season, the 1997 vintage was one where judicious use of irrigation was needed.
The last appreciable rain was in early January. Harvest at the Carneros ranch came relatively early, producing
intense colors and powerfully flavored fruit in the reds with bright acid structures in the whites.
VINEYARDS
One of the most treasured white varietals of the northern Rhone Valley in France, Roussanne is used in exotic white
wine blends and as a varietal from Hermitage, St. Joseph and St. P_rey in the North to the great sea of vines found
in Provence and The Languedoc-Roussillon areas in the South. Our Los Carneros vineyards, planted in shallow
clay and loam soils on the flats in front of our winery and on a steep, rocky north facing hillside in the far
western end of our Carneros ranch, seem ideally suited to producing Roussanne, rich in intense citrus and tropical
aromas. Howling afternoon winds that tear through the region and characterize the far southern end of the Los
Carneros district mitigate the summer heat and force our vines to struggle. The unique climatic and soil conditions
combine to reduce yields and concentrate flavors in the small tight clusters of this varietal.
FERMENTATION AND AGING
In the winery, we have found that our Roussanne responds particularly well to partial barrel fermentation. In 1997,
the grapes were 100% whole-cluster pressed to limit extraction of phenolics. The resulting juice underwent a pre-fermentation
oxidization to further reduce astringent compounds in the wine and was cold-settled overnight. After racking the
juice off its sediment, we inoculated our Viognier with selected yeast strains from the Rhone Valley of France
and cold-fermented it in stainless steel. As the fermenting must reached approximately 12_ to 16_ brix we transferred
it to a complement of new and used 225 litre French and American oak barrels to finish slowly to dryness. Malolactic
fermentation in this wine was blocked to accentuate its fresh acidity.
WINEMAKER'S COMMENTS
As with Viognier, Roussanne is quickly becoming a popular grape among California's more progressive winemakers.
At the winery we have found the grape's exotic spice, floral and tropical nuances particularly exciting and do
all that we can to accentuate this aspect of variety. Consciously avoiding the tendency in California to make this
varietal in the style of Chardonnay, we have vinified our 1997 Los Carneros Roussanne more like the best
northern Rhone examples. Meanwhile, modern winemaking techniques and partial stainless steel fermentation give
our wine more characteristic fruit appeal than those of France. With a long rich mouthfeel and loaded with exotic
citrus, melon and spicy notes, I feel this Roussanne makes an ideal aperitif as well as a beautiful accompaniment
to hedonistic seafood dishes, such as lobster in a ginger-butter sauce.
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