2008 Starr Ranch Gemini				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$18	@ Winery	9/19/11
	A blend of 60% Roussanne and 40% Viognier. A medium, lemon-gold colored wine with a bright nose of citrus, tropical fruit and slate with hints of smoke and spice. The palate is medium-bodied with nice acidity and flavors of lemon creme, peach, honey and lanolin along with hints of biscuit and vanilla on the finish. There's not much upfront fruit left in this wine, the secondary elements being more prominent thanks to the Roussanne, but the wine was still very appealing. Easy to drink and just as good warm as cold, showing a bit more aromatics, depth and texture at room temperature. Definitely ready to go. Winery owner Judy Starr is a delight to talk too and makes just a small amount of wine for her label (under 500 total cases a year), selling the rest of her grapes to other local wineries. Worth the drive out. The property is amazing and the wines are pretty good too. (13.2% abv/40 cases)

2008 Terry Hoage Vineyards "The Gap" Cuvee				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$32	@ Winery	11/15/10
	A blend of 60% Grenache Blanc and 40% Roussanne. A bright, medium, lemon-colored wine with a moderate nose of green fruit, citrus, honeysuckle and melon with hints of minerals. The palate is medium-bodied, ripe and round with lively acidity. The nose leads you to believe the wine will be fruitier than it is with sour apple, lemon creme and lime dominating the flavors with notes of grass, biscuit and almonds on the medium-length finish. While I enjoyed the flavors, the wine seemed to be a bit disjointed. Roussanne changes quite a bit as it ages, so I think this might just be in a awkward stage right now. Going to give my second bottle another year to see what happens. (14% abv/100 cases)

2007 Adelaida Cellars "Version" White Blend				***
	Region	Price	Tasted	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$27	@ the Winery	7/13/10
	This blend of 42% Grenache Blanc and 58% Roussanne is a pale, gold-colored wine with a bright nose of ripe green apple, spicy pear, lemon creme, honey, flowers and minerals. The palate is medium-bodied with a round texture, yet enough acidity to keep the wine from being cloying. The flavors are a perfect blend of GBs green fruit and minerality and Roussanne's lush honey and stone fruits with a hint of melon and almonds on the lingering finish. An elegant wine with a fleshy mouthfeel due to malolactic fermention and a year in neutral French Oak. It is drinking beautifully right now, but has enough balance to keep it going for at least another year. It tastes riper than its 13.5% abv, which is just fine by me. A lovely wine that showcases both grapes to their best advantage.

2007 Edward Sellers Blanc Du Rhone				***
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$29	@ The Winery	8/17/10
	A blend of 42% Roussanne, 40% Marsanne and 18% Viognier. A medium, lemon/gold-colored wine with a nose filled with bright aromas of honeysuckle, tropical fruit, lemon creme and hints of sweet spice. The mouthfeel is full-bodied and round with flavors of ripe melon, apricot, lemon creme, pineapple and honey with notes of pear and almonds on the lingering finish. Well-balanced with just the right amount of acidity to make the fruit pop. The wine is 100% barrel fermented and aged in mostly French Oak (12% New, 61% Neutral French Oak) with the rest in Stainless Steel, givine it a nice creaminess and sweet spice notes while still being elegant. Popped and poured, this wine is ready to go, though it still has a year or so left to be enjoyed. A blend that delivers class, intensity and quality year after year. A great example of how good Central Coast whites can be. (13.8% abv/310 cases)

2007 Chateau Mourgues du Gres Les Galets Dorés				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Costières-de-Nimes, France	$14	Beverly Hills Cheese Shop	7/3/08
	A blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and Vermentino, this pale, lemon-colored wine has an expressive nose of flowers, citrus and green fruit with hints of pear, peach and minerals. The palate is fairly light-bodied but with intense flavors of lemon, ripe apple, melon, minerals and a finish that lingers with the taste of pear. With just enough acidity to keep it from being flabby, this is a lovely, refreshing summer wine that hits all the right notes, especially for the price.

2007 Kaena Hapa Blanc				***
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Santa Barbara, CA	$25	@ the Winery	3/1/09
	A blend of 50% Grenache Blanc and 50% Roussanne. This is a pale, lemon colored wine with a subtle bouquet of citrus and ripe green fruit with notes of minerals and almonds. The palate is round and lush and unexpectedly riper than the nose initially suggests though still well-balanced. It's light-medium bodied, but intense with flavors of lemon/lime, apple, melon and pear with some minerality and notes of tropical fruit on the lingering finish. We drank this over several nights and it lost nothing on the palate and really helped open the nose. It went great with two separate spicy meals, having enough fruit and acid to hold its own. Be forewarned this is a very fruit-forward wine.

2006 Adelaida Cellars "Version" White				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$25	Private Event	6/4/08
	This blend of 74% Grenache Blanc and 24% Roussanne is a pale, lemon-green colored wine with a bouquet of citrus, green fruit and minerals that follow through on the crisp, yet creamy palate. The finish is refreshing with notes of honey, apple and minerals. Not overly complex, but a well-crafted white with good balance and interesting flavors.

2006 Barrel 27 "High on the Hog" Rhone Blend				*
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$15	Wade's Wines	9/10/08
	A blend of 42% Viognier, 34% Roussanne and 24% Marsanne from the French Camp Vineyard. I was excited to try this wine because I love Rhone blends and the price was right. Unfortunately, the 15.1% alcohol level just made it too flabby and unbalanced to be truly enjoyed. There was floral notes, good citrus (lemon creme, lime) and tropical fruit flavors (pineapple, banana), but barely any acidity to overcome the heavy glycerine feel of the palate, which killed the complexity of the wine. If you enjoy big, weighty Chardonnays than you'll probably like this wine. Otherwise it's far from refreshing. Quite a disappointment.

2006 Cass Winery Estate Cuvee				***
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$28	@ the Winery	9/10/07
	This wine is a nice combination of white Rhônes that blends the floral character of the Viognier with the citrus of the Roussanne and the fruit flavors of the Marsanne. The nose is full of ripe stone fruits, which follow through on the medium-bodied palate. The right touch of acidity helps balance the wine. Elegant and fruity, this is a great example of this type of blend. Wish I had purchased more.

2006 d'Arenberg "The Hermit Crab"				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	McLaren Vale, Australia	$15	Flask Fine Wines	3/12/08
	A bright lemon-green colored wine that exhibits fresh fruit aromas with strong notes of stone fruits, mineral and honeysuckle, which follow through on the full, yet crisp palate. Peach and apricot flavors are balanced by hints of grapefruit and butter on the finish. Though 70% viognier, the Marsanne's minerality makes itself known. Drank with Osso Buco and Parmesan risotto which really brought the ripe stone fruit flavors and creamy mouthfeel of the Viognier to the forefront. A nice wine for a good price.

2006 Edward Sellers Blanc Du Rhone				***
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$29	@ The Winery	12/7/09
	A blend of 46% Marsanne, 27% Viognier, 15% Roussanne & 12% Grenache Blanc. A medium, gold-colored wine with a nose filled with strong aromas of honeysuckle, stone fruit, citrus, melon and notes of herbs. The mouthfeel is full-bodied and round with flavors of ripe apple, melon, peach and honey with notes of sweet spice and almonds on the lingering finish. Well-balanced with just the right amount of acidity to make the fruit pop. Aging the wine in French Oak (12% new) gives it a nice creaminess and the sweet spice notes without being obvious or obtrusive. Popped and poured, this wine is ready to go, though it still has a year or two left to be enjoyed. A wine that really delivers what Rhone Blends are all about. Pricey but worth it. Wish I had more.

2006 Ch. Grande Cassange "Cassanus" Blanc				*
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Costières-de-Nimes, France	$11	K&L Wines	7/15/09
	A blend of 60% Roussanne and 40% Marsanne, this medium, lemon-colored wine has a nose of citrus and green fruit with hints of petrol and minerals. The palate is medium-bodied and acidic with flavors of sour green apple, lime and grapefruit with notes of melon, honey and petrol on the moderately lengthy finish. I liked the crispness of the wine, but the flavors never came together for me in a positive way. It seemed unbalanced and perhaps a bit past it's prime. Was expecting a bit more ripeness of the fruit and not all the petrol notes. Should have drunk it when purchased last summer. (13.5% ABV)

2006 Stolpman Vineyards L'Avion				***
	Region	Price	Tasted	Drank
	Santa Barbara, CA	$35	@ the Winery	5/4/08
	A blend of 90% Roussanne and 10% Viognier, this neon yellow-colored wine is a lovely expression of both varietals with the Viognier really showing through on the nose with notes of honeysuckle and tropical fruits, which carry through onto the crisp, yet rich palate. Flavors of ripe mango and melon with hints of lemon and minerals on the smooth finish. A complex wine with a touch of heat that almost unbalances the flavors, but the acidity and fruit keep it in check. I'm glad I'm a club member and don't have to pay full price.

2006 Villa Creek White				**
label image not available	Region	Price	Tasted	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$24	Mission Wines	4/12/08
	A bright straw colored wine made up of 75% Roussanne and 25% Grenache Blanc. The nose is mild with mineral, citrus and green fruit notes. The palate has a lively acidity, light body and flavors of apple, pear, minerals and hints of vanilla on the quick finish. A crisp, elegant wine, but not as outstanding as the price leads you to believe.

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