“Never tell
people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with
their ingenuity.”
…… George S. Patton
Those who follow this blog by
email subscription may have noticed my postings are down this year. I’ve been
posting more mini reviews on FaceBook, but fewer full reviews here. Maintaining
a blog is work and since I accept no advertising, it is work that also pays
nothing. But the even harsher reality is that as the years accumulate, I find
myself encountering fewer wines that excite me, that snap my attention to the
forefront. As Shakespeare would say, “there’s the rub” because this is the
greatest time in history to be a lover of wine.
More wines than ever before are available. Most are well made.
Technology has benefited production and pricing and many delicious wines are
inexpensively available. What could
possibly be wrong?
What’s wrong is why chefs
constantly tweak recipes and photographers and artists employ different mediums
when their work has already been recognized and collected. We want to experience something new. It’s in
our nature. And that’s the joy I encountered in first tasting Lynfred’s
Marsanne Roussanne. It was particularly
joyful for me because I’m a Francophile at heart, meaning I prefer “old world”
style wines, and this Lynfred is a wine that would never be made in the old
world. It is different. New. With a surprising twist.
Marsanne and Roussanne are
different grapes. Grown now in many regions of the world, they are still
considered French white-wine grapes grown in the Rhone Valley. Marsanne contributes color, weight and
structure. Roussanne offers aromatics and flavors. Put simply, Marsanne is big and bold.
Rousanne is delicate and refined.
Blending them makes for a wine with both characteristics in a balancing
act that people have enjoyed for hundreds of years. Lynfred’s blend is 49% Marsanne and 26%
Roussanne. But wait! That’s only 75%,
the legal standard in the U.S. for labeling a wine as a varietal. Are we missing something? Yes, one-fourth of the bottle would be empty
without the other 25% being filled, in this case, with Pinot Grigio!
Before you register shock… taste. Here’s how it worked for me: In the glass, the wine displayed the color of
pale straw with some golden hues. As
with most whites, this wine is “semi-shy” but seductively so. It’s floral,
slightly honeyed and with notes of fresh linen.
I enjoyed wisps of
 |
| Here enjoyed with wild caught Copper River Sockeye Salmon |
watermelon and, as the wine warmed in the glass -
orange. On the second day, I enjoyed
vanilla-lemon, some herbal notes and elderberry. There’s an excellent balance
of tart and creamy in this wine that plays the flavor senses: I enjoyed flavors
of kiwi, orange, candied lemon peel and Meyer lemon in a rich mouthfeel. I’ll always enjoy the romantic union of
Marsanne and Rousanne, but I have to congratulate Lynfred on their American
inventiveness. The addition of Pinot
Grigio lifted the experience. It made for a crisper finish. And it snapped my
attention.
 |
| And again with a Portobello mushroom cap stuffed with pink shrimp & Dungeness crab, then sauced with buerre blanc. The zesty Pinot Grigio lightened the rich sauce and cleansed palate nicely. |
Grapes are sourced from the Borra
Vineyards in Lodi, California. After
pressing, the juice is fermented (separately) and aged in temperature
controlled stainless steel tanks which preserves freshness and (especially) the
aromatics of Roussanne and Pinot Grigio.
I wondered what contributed to the wine’s lushness in the mouth. Was
malolactic fermentation allowed in any percentage? On any of the varietals? No, I was advised
(and yes, I am sometimes intrusive). The lushness is attributed to lees
stirring (lees are the spent yeast cells) which was done in a Burgundian style
with batonnage in tank every other day for two weeks. Basically, that means a big stick is inserted
and used to stir up the juice, keeping it in contact with the lees. It makes for wine that becomes creamy,
somewhat buttery (in texture not flavor) in the mouth – what wine geeks call
volume. Finally, a very small amount of
the Marsanne was aged in oak barrels with batonnage also.
Admittedly, this may be more
than you want to know. But it will not
be more than you can appreciate when you taste this wine. At a bottle price of $22.25, it’s worth
tasting several. Traditionally, many of
us drink more red wine as the weather
cools, but with central heating this is a wine everyone can enjoy year long. I served it twice recently with different
seafood. It would do well certainly with
chicken, risotto, any pasta that is white sauced. In fact, I used white wine as an ingredient in
one of the dishes I made and I would suggest you might want to try cooking with
wine too. W.C. Fields wisely said, “I
cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food.”
Cheers!
…………….. Jim
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Lynfred Winery
15 S Roselle Rd
Roselle IL 60172
(630) 529-9463
TECH SPECS FOR LYNFRED MARSANNE
ROUSSANNE (2011)
Alc: 12.7%
RS 0.8%
Ph: 3.38
Total Acidity: 5.70
g/L
Aging: Stainless
Steel
Filtered
We are delighted that you enjoyed our Marsanne-Roussanne, Jim! Your food pairings were spot on!
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