2020 Latta Wines Roussanne Lawrence Vineyard

306 cs. made.  $36/btl. 

92+ Vinous | 92 pts. James Suckling

Bright yellow gold white wine, with meyer lemon, notes of hay, pronounced salinity, and petrichor. We sprawled the west side of the vine rows to keep sunburn out and freshness in. A cropload of 3.6 tons/acre kept acid and sugar in balance with Lawrence vineyard’s trademark intensity. The Roussanne was whole cluster pressed and fermented native in barrel, a mix of barriques and puncheons with 15% new French oak from Jupille. The wine rested in barrel for 16 months until bottling.

Lawrence vineyard is a cool site overlooking the Royal Slope and the Saddle Mountains to the south. The Roussanne block sits at 1450 feet of elevation in Taunton silt loam soils that give way to broken basalt. The sloped elevation of Lawrence gives it protection from frost that wreaks havoc in vineyard sites lower on the slope. The long cool growing season is ideal for serious white wine such as this Roussanne.