Marsanne

This is 100% Marsanne from the northern Rhone Valley in France.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great.  Earthy (think freshly tilled garden) with wax, slight quince, and almonds.  Full bodied.  Slightly oily texture.  On the palate, waxy with great minerality and slight bitter almond note on the finish.  Delicious.  This is nice on its own but even better with food.  It went well with vegetarian Spring Rolls.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  

These wines can be hard to judge as to when they are open for business.  This bottle was drinking beautifully.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with peach, wax, buttered popcorn and lemon.  Also a nice touch of minerality.  Full bodied.  Oily texture.  Good balance.  On the palate, dried peach, apples with underlying minerals and slight char.  Long finish.  This is complex and deep.  Probably not at peak but showing a nice maturity.  Drink over the next twenty years.  This would work well with Veal Chops.  

Just a great showing for this wine.  It can be difficult to know when to open a white Hermitage with age on it.  The wines are mysterious, shutting down and opening up on their own schedule.  This bottle seemed old at first but kept getting "younger" as it opened.  Golden in color (darker than expected), clear and bright.  The nose is interesting with pears, slight orange peel, hints of wax and maybe a bit of a floral tone.  Full bodied.  On the palate, at first this seemed a bit oxidized but not shot.  With air, those flavors disappeared to be followed by pears, slight citrus and char.  Go

A white wine from one of the top producers of Hermitage, Paul Jaboulet.  A 60/40 blend of Marsanne and Rousanne.  It seems to  be a bit "lighter" in style but that works very well.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great.  It has a fresh air quality along with slight pineapple, a bit of wax, and some apricot.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, red apples and slight citrus.  Long finish.  This is tasty on its own and will work well with sea food or fowl.   Drink over the next ten years.  

Guigal makes a lot of wine and just about all of it is excellent and priced fairly.  This wine is no exception.  It is 95% Marsanne with 5% Roussanne.  It sees 2 years in second year oak barrels.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is waxy with red apples.  Oily texture.  Full bodied.  On the palate, apples with a bit of spice.  Crisp-ish.  Good finish.  This is delicious and a wonderful wine.  Great on its own, this will be food friendly with sea food, ham or fowl.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.

This started a bit tight, but with three hours of air, this was absolutely singing.  80% Marsanne with 20% Rousanne grapes from multiple vineyards.  Golden in color with some green hues, clear and bright.  The nose initially shows tightly with limes, some melons and spice.  With air, more notes come out; salinity, butterscotch, almonds but also more melons and slight lemons.  Really complex.  Great "slick" texture with pin point balance and energy.  The palate mirrors the nose and really explodes with lots of air.  Melons, quince, spice, minerality and a bit of almonds on the finish.  Layer

White Rhones can be tricky, but this one was hitting on all cylinders from the get-go.  This is made from the Marsanne grape.

A very nice northern Rhone white, perhaps a bit lighter in style, but in a good way. It is a blend of 95% Marsanne, and 5% Roussanne.  Light yellow/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with vanilla, peach, pears and spice.  Medium bodied.  Crisp acidity.  On the palate, tangerine with slight lemon peel and the oak/spice continues thru to the finish.  A bit of grapefruit on the finish as well.  This is very nice on its own but even better with food.  It went well with a vegetarian cassoulet.  Drink over the next three to five years.