Rousanne
January, 2014 Filed in: Wine varieties
This month’s white Limited Edition from Winexpert is a South African Viognier/Chenin-Blanc/Rousanne. Wait, Rousanne, what’s that. Likely you have heard of Viognier and Chenin Blanc, but Rousanne?
Rousanne is a white wine grape primarily grown in the Rhone wine region of France. You may not have heard of it as it is primarily found in blends, chiefly Marsanne. Of course the French don’t typically designate their wines by grape variety rather by region and thus you have likely never heard of either of these grapes.
In fact the French authorities allow Rousanne to be in the famous red wine blend Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Yes, a white wine in a red blend!
The grapes from Rousanne are russet coloured, which is probably the origin of its name as the French word for reddish-brown is roux. The wine from Rousanne is very floral, almost like an herbal tea.
Rousanne is a difficult grape to grow, as it is susceptible to mildew, and is not very tolerant of wind and drought. It requires a long growing season, and if harvested early will leave an acidic wine.
It has high sugar content when harvested, resulting in high alcohol content, approaching 14% often, and an out-of-balance wine. Thus it is blended with other grapes but lends it robust, flowery nature to produce quite outstanding full-bodied dry wines.
The South African Viognier/Chenin Blanc/Rousanne will be an excellent candidate for your cellar. It will pair very well richly-flavoured foods, such as curries, Satay and South-Asian dishes, or buttery or creamy sauces and soups. Many of you who attended one of our wine tastings will remember how well it paired with Butternut Squash soup.
Rousanne is a white wine grape primarily grown in the Rhone wine region of France. You may not have heard of it as it is primarily found in blends, chiefly Marsanne. Of course the French don’t typically designate their wines by grape variety rather by region and thus you have likely never heard of either of these grapes.
In fact the French authorities allow Rousanne to be in the famous red wine blend Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Yes, a white wine in a red blend!
The grapes from Rousanne are russet coloured, which is probably the origin of its name as the French word for reddish-brown is roux. The wine from Rousanne is very floral, almost like an herbal tea.
Rousanne is a difficult grape to grow, as it is susceptible to mildew, and is not very tolerant of wind and drought. It requires a long growing season, and if harvested early will leave an acidic wine.
It has high sugar content when harvested, resulting in high alcohol content, approaching 14% often, and an out-of-balance wine. Thus it is blended with other grapes but lends it robust, flowery nature to produce quite outstanding full-bodied dry wines.
The South African Viognier/Chenin Blanc/Rousanne will be an excellent candidate for your cellar. It will pair very well richly-flavoured foods, such as curries, Satay and South-Asian dishes, or buttery or creamy sauces and soups. Many of you who attended one of our wine tastings will remember how well it paired with Butternut Squash soup.