Tasting Notes: Kaffir lime & orange peel on the nose. Key lime, grapefruit, honey blossom & sea salt on the palate.
This is one of the more interesting and complex Love Whites yet. It’s evolved over the years from a Rhône blend of Marsanne and Roussanne and this is the first year we’ve added Orange Muscat to the mix. California is one of the few places Orange Muscat is grown and it is often made in a sweeter style wine. For us, we love the beautiful aromatics and charming texture it brings to the wine. Picpoul from Windmill Vineyard is more substantially featured this year, which brings a new brightness to the blend that makes it hard to put down the glass.
All white grapes receive a light footstomp on arrival at the winery. It’s an important step for two reasons: We like the complexity the short skin contact gives the wine and, more functionally, treading breaks up the clusters to better fit everything into the press. After a gentle press, the wine goes into mostly neutral barrique with a small fraction into stainless steel tank where it’s fermented and aged for six months.
FUN FACT: Orange Muscat’s pedigree was hotly debated until DNA studies confirmed that it’s a crossing of Chasselas, Muscat Blanc and Petit Grains.
VARIETIES: 26% Picpoul | 22% Clairette | 22% Orange Muscat | 15% Marsanne | 10% Roussanne | 5% Chardonnay
ALCOHOL: 11%
