Roussanne

Roussanne is the more difficult and more interesting of the two classic white grapes of the northern Rhône. Its name comes from roux, the French for russet, because the berries turn a coppery brown when fully ripe. It appears in Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage and Saint-Joseph, and in the south it is one of the white varieties allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Growers put up with a great deal for it. It ripens late, it crops erratically from year to year, it is prone to powdery mildew and rot, and it breaks in the wind. Marsanne, its usual partner, does none of those things, which is why Marsanne is planted more widely even though most winemakers consider Roussanne the better grape.

What it gives back is aroma and structure. Young Roussanne smells of pear, herbal tea and honeysuckle and has firm acidity for a warm climate white. With five to ten years it develops nuts, beeswax and quince and gains real weight. Château de Beaucastel's white, which is mostly Roussanne including a plot of very old vines, is the wine that made the case for taking it seriously.