Soft Georgia peach, white chocolate, lemon confit. Baked pear, vanilla bean, ripe honeydew melon. Apricot, custard, and golden apple gracefully interweave with powdered nutmeg and peach blossom in a deliciously creamy and supple display. Notes of lilies, flower petals, and spearmint meekly rise to enhance aromatic lift that is further complicated by impressions of cinnamon and pretty barrel spice. Cocoa butter and créme brûlé bring hints of restrained decadence that does not overwhelm earthy tones of crushed rocks and sandy earth. Poised, polished, and impressively silky; featuring obvious yet unobtrusive oak influence paired with balanced ripeness and a lightly caramelized and honeyed sheen. Medium plus in body with moderate acidity. This 2017 Estate Roussanne by Rideau Vineyard is a complex and elegant white from Santa Barbara's Los Olivos District.

While Roussanne is often used as a blending component in its home of Southern France this unique white grape has tremendous potential to make some absolutely delicious varietal wines when given the chance. This bottling, crafted by Rideau Vineyard using Roussanne sourced from their estate in Santa Barbara County, showcases the wonderfully nuanced complexity this variety is capable of. Thanks to neutral barrel fermentation and aging this wine is noticeably soft and creamy on the palate while exhibiting an oaky character that enhances its subtleties without dominating them. Its charming texture frames a moderately-concentrated medley of fresh and ripe fruit dusted with an array of delicate baking spices. This is an excellent example of Roussanne typicity shaped by a producer who is doing this variety great justice.