Known for Rhone obsession, Alban Vineyards was the first winery in the U.S. to focus only on Rhone varietals and owner John Alban was one of the first proponents of Rhone varietals in California. Located in the Edna Valley AVA in San Louis Obispo County. Alban specializes in Syrah, Grenache, Marsanne, Viognier and Roussanne.
"John Alban of Alban Vineyards is by any and all measures a pioneer of Rhône-styled wines in California, particularly Viognier. He established his Alban Vineyards brand, the first in America to specialize in Rhône varietals, in 1989... Almost none of the Rhône varieties he wanted to plant existed in California. Alban spent years propagating vines and then planting them in Edna Valley, a cool appellation just outside of San Luis Obispo. He felt it was a great site, especially for Viognier. John Alban the pioneer, has become John Alban, the spiritual leader, and even the “Johnny Appleseed” of the movement. Rhône varieties are now flourishing in California, thanks in great part to a man who wouldn’t settle for only chocolate and vanilla...." Gregory Walter See more from WineCountry.com
Nearly all Roussanne cuttings in California, Washington and Oregon are descendents of those brought in by John Alban or Tablas Creek.... Roussanne (in the words of John Alban) "tends to be a rollercoaster". It varies often widely depending on where it's grown and where it is in its life cycle. And it's a polarizing wine; different people will love and hate the same wine. This makes it more of a challenge.... The first large tasting of American Roussannes, in 1998 at the Hospice du Rhone, was notable ... as the wines were "as different as they were fascinating". Read more from the 2008 Roussanne SymposiumVarietal Roussanne is a much rarer beast; it is more typically an ingredient in a southern French blend. Chateau de Beaucastel in Chateauneuf-du-Pape has long favoured it and pioneered it as a varietal in a stunning oaked version from some particularly old vines. Roussanne is also scented, with something more akin to lime and blossom than richer fruits, but usually has much less body than Viognier. Blending it with the much plumper Marsanne, as has long been common in Hermitage, gives it ballast.
Roussanne, Viognier and Marsanne all come from the Rhône Valley, but until the late 1980s Viognier was grown almost exclusively around the village of Condrieu in the northern Rhône. Roussanne is grown in the northern but especially southern Rhône and Provence.jancisrobinson.com
In 1989, John Alban began planting vineyards on his 250 acre property. From this fruit, John Alban makes aromatically complex and explosively rich wines. He works entirely with fruit from his own material planted on chalk-rich hillside vineyards open to cooling sea breezes. The wines have exotic yet varietaly accurate character and and creamy sweetness to provide immediate pleasure, but have the balance and structure to age.
Body: Full
Blend: 75% Roussanne, 25% Viognier
Case Production: 450 cases
POINTS 91 points Robert Parker: "The 2006 Roussanne Estate, which includes 25% Viognier in the blend, is a heavier, more waxy style of white wine that appears to possess some tannin. As this varietal often does, this full-bodied effort comes across as a “love it or leave it” wine. I happen to adore this style, but their aging curve is almost impossible to predict. I recommend drinking these Roussannes on the earlier rather than later side. This offering would drink beautifully with fatty fish or grilled chicken dishes as it almost has the weight, richness, and structure of a dry red wine. Alban’s decision to add 25% Viognier to the blend has given the wine more complexity as well as a slightly uplifting character." (06/08)
91 points Wine Spectator: "Wonderfully fragrant, with cedar and pine notes to the passion fruit, marmalade and floral honeysuckle flavors. Full-bodied and nicely juicy, with fantastic intensity. Drink now through 2012." (4.30.09)
Eat with: pan-roasted black cod, yellow corn, fingerling potatoes, savoy cabbage & black truffle emulsion.
