Roussanne

In contrast to the challenges it presents in the vineyard, Roussanne is flexible and forgiving in the cellar. In the vineyard, it can be harvested at lower sugars without losing body, or it can be left to increase ripeness without losing all of its acidity. Once inside the winery, it can be successfully fermented in large or small oak, stainless steel or concrete. It has the body to handle new oak; stainless steel, however, will highlight the grape’s minerality. In contrast to many other white wines, Roussanne ages well due to its unusual combination of richness, minerality, and balancing acid. The best Roussanne wines can be enjoyed up to 15 years or more after bottling.

Working the Land:

Does soil influence the flavor of the final wine?

Traditionalists answer unequivocally, “Yes!” Soil is a key element of “terroir,” the natural environment in which vines grow, along with climate (temperature, rainfall), topography (altitude, drainage, slope, aspect), and sunlight.

A more unorthodox view holds that the influence of soil on what you taste in the glass is a myth. Maynard Amerine and Ann Noble, two famous names at UC Davis, California’s premier wine school and research facility, conducted a study on the topic. Though the study is based on Chardonnay grapes, they concluded that the following holds true for all wine grapes: “no outstanding sensory differences were observed in wines produced from different soil type locations.” The key word is “sensory” (sight, smell, taste). They are not claiming that soil doesn’t affect vine behavior (yield, growth cycle, etc.). 

Roussanne has a well-deserved reputation as a difficult variety to grow and, consequently, is often passed over in favor of the more predictable Marsanne. In the family of white Rhône varieties, Roussanne is generally the latest ripening. Moreover, it is prone to shutting down toward the end of harvest, as well as to shatter and produce uneven yields. The vines are very sensitive to sunlight.

As with Marsanne in California, there is not much to speak of in the way of FPS/UC Davis plant material – just five selections. Four are “home-based” clones: 02, 03, 04, and 05 (the latter three are byproducts of Tablas Creek’s efforts), and one (number 468) from ENTAV-INRA® – one of four propagated at that globally celebrated southern French universal nursery. In France, they go a step further, recommending specific rootstocks for soil types: 110R or 1103P for granitic, acid, shallow hillside or low Ph soils, and 3309C for deeper, more fertile soils.