I want to highlight these two “Rhone Rangers” from the Andrew Murray winery in Santa Barbara. They were a big hit at last weekend’s tasting, I even took home the leftovers for myself. The white called “RGB” (Rousanne and Grenache Blanc) is ripe with lots of tree fruit flavors, a round fleshy feel, and enough acid to lift it up. The Andrew Murray Syrah, Watchill Vineyard 2011 is intense with an inky color but very sleek on the palate and beautifully aromatic. Here is some background from noted Rhone wine expert Jeb Dunnuck, who now writes for Wine Advocate, and some technical info on the RGB white blend from the winery itself. These Andrew Murray wines will be deeply discounted for the coming week, or until we run out. Read more about them at my site moraswines.com
“Starting off the single vineyard Syrahs, the 2011 Syrah Watch Hill Vineyard (co-fermented with 4% Viognier) is an outstanding Syrah that has brilliantly pure blackberry, raspberry, liquid flower and wild herb aromas and flavors to go with a medium-bodied, surprisingly ripe (this is a cool site) and textured mouthfeel. Clean, balanced and elegant, it’s a beautifully done Syrah meant for drinking over the coming 3-4 years. Drink now-2017.” -Jeb Dunnuck
“The RGB is named for the blend of Roussanne and Grenache Blanc, which is a typical white wine blend found in and around the small villages in the south of France. Typically Roussanne, which is more difficult to ripen and thus more rare, takes a backseat to the Grenache Blanc, which is a more neutral tasting grape. We like to richen up this blend a bit and include more of the robust Roussanne. The resulting blend is nearly a 50-50 balance between the two varieties. The grapes were whole cluster pressed and then fermented and aged together in a small, temperature controlled stainless tank. This early blending allowed the flavors to come together more completely. After fermentation, the wine was transferred to neutral French Burgundy barrels to allow a bit more oxygen into the wine, which acted to soften and round out the final wine. The aroma of this wine explodes with white flowers, green apple, a tropical/banana note, and a flinty/minerally note. The aromas find their way onto the palate where you will sense a long, round, viscous mouthfeel made complex with a racy acidity. The RGB is clean, fresh, and ready to drink. It should, however, improve over the next couple of years.” -The Winery